


Egg and Soldiers

by RaeTheStar



Category: Hermitcraft
Genre: Also it’s a mystery boys, Also jk it’s gonna be closer to 50 chapters now oops, Gen, Yeah yeah Area 77 angst, area 77-centric, but just as much fluff to balance it out, i had an idea and I had to write it lmao, im expecting this to be 30+ chapters so get ready, more characters to be added as they show up, see if you can solve it before these dang hermits, theres gonna be a lot of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-02 04:22:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 40,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21155546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaeTheStar/pseuds/RaeTheStar
Summary: Grian can't help but notice that Doc has been very secretive about his project lately, and it's really bothering Ren. And, now that he thinks about it, Scar's been rather absent as well. With tensions on the server running high, can Grian investigate without all heck breaking loose? Get ready for drama at high noon and murder at midnight! (murder not guaranteed)





	1. High Tides

"Please. Please don't tell them."

"They already know."

—

Cub tossed himself onto the couch, sighing. He ran a hand carelessly through his beard, wincing as he yanked on countless knots. With one hand taming his beard, he clumsily turned on his phone, calling the name at the top of his list.

After 4 rings, Scar picked up. "This is GoodTimesWithScar, how may I help you?"

"Scar, it's Cub."

"Oh! Hey Cub! Wassup?" There was some quiet shuffling on the line. "Quiet Jellie, daddy's on the phone."

"Just wondering if you were still available for our meeting." Cub sighed as he flicked a berry out of his beard. The foxes from his new farm got carried away today...

"Meeting? When do we have a meeting?" Confusion crept through Scar's voice.

"Two hours ago. I've been waiting in the meeting room. Scar, are you still at your secret project?"

Silence. "...maybe?"

Cub rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, not today. When can we have a meeting for Concorp?"

Scar muttered to himself, counting days. "Uh, I've got an opening next Friday, does that work?"

"I suppose, but we _really_ need to talk as soon as possible. Sahara is starting it's Sahara Now campaign, and we really need to do something to combat it," Cub pointed out.

"Sahara Now? How recent is this?"

"Weeks, Scar. What on earth has you so _distant_ lately?"

Scar sucked in a breath. "Ah, it's nothin, don't worry! I'll see you next week!"

The line went dead.

Cub growled quietly as he threw himself up off the couch. He supported Scar in all his endeavors, but this 'secret project' took every hour of every day lately. Scar didn't even tell Cub what it was, and he usually told Cub all his secrets!

There was a strong frustration about the whole matter, but even stronger was his fear. Fear that the ConVex were over, and Scar was too afraid to tell Cub to his face. Fear that Cub has done something wrong. Fear that Scar was lying, and he was trying to put distance between the pair on purpose; _that_ was the biggest fear.

He and Scar had been together since as long as he could remember. They both joined Hermitcraft the same year, and had bonded as the newbies. The bond was so instant, Cub always wondered if they had known each other before Hermitcraft. Of course, that was impossible to know, but it was fun to think about. No one remembered their past lives after joining a new server; aside from admin and the occasion oddball case. He couldn't remember a life without Scar, and now he feared it might become reality.

Of course, they would still be living on the same server, so they would see each other around, but it wouldn't be the same. The cold gaze of an old friend chilled Cub to the bone. Maybe it would be better if they weren't even on the same server at all, but there's no real way to induce world-hopping on purpose. The pain dug into Cub's chest as the reality hit him.

Cub and Scar would become mortal enemies. Maybe not on purpose, and maybe not at first, but it would happen. Someone who used to be a friend is more painful to see than an enemy. The memories are far too strong, and only make the divide that much deeper. Cub could just imagine running into Scar in the shopping district, and not being able to act the same around him. The image was so real, Cub burned inside at the thought of never talking to Scar again. He couldn't let this happen.

Next Friday. Next Friday, Cub would put his foot down. Cub would confront Scar about all his worst fears, and prevent the worst-case scenario before it could take root.

He had done all he could for now. Now, he needed to see about those pesky foxes.

—

"Hey Ren!" Grian waved brightly from across the cobbled road of Hermitville, parrots on both shoulders.

"Hey G!" Ren waved, albeit more subdued. "How's this heat wave treating you?"

Grian shook his head with a laugh. "Oh the usual. Frizzy hair and sticky clothes, am I right?"

"Yeah," Ren hesitated. "Yeah! Could you do me a solid?"

Grian tilted his head, a confused smile spread across his face. "Sure! Do you need to talk?"

Ren swallowed thickly, his tongue getting caught in his throat. "Uh, could you braid my hair? It's the only way to control it during this humidity."

Grian smiled, understanding in his eyes. "Of course. Let's go to my place and sit, hm?"

Ren sat on the floor in Grian's quirky wooden home, Grian sitting on a chair behind him. It was a cozy rustic house, although the way it seemed to be pieced together precariously made Ren slightly nervous. Villager Grian mumbled quietly in the corner, minding his own business for the moment. By this point, the hermits had grown used to the villagers lurking in every nook and cranny of Hermitville.

"Alright, tell me all about it." Grian quietly began brushing Ren's hair. It never failed to surprise Ren that the energetic hermit could go from 100 to 0 so fast.

"Well, it's Doc, ya see..."

"Right, how's his secret project coming along?"

Ren sighed. "I don't know, he won't tell me."

This seemed to surprise Grian, as he pulled extra hard on a strand of hair, forcing Ren to bite his lip. "But I thought you were best friends! He hasn't told you yet?"

Ren sighed, forcing back the tears burning in his eyes. "It's been a month, Grian. A _month_. He doesn't even return my calls any more!"

Grian sighed quietly, setting the brush down. "Have you talked to Xisuma about it? He always seems to know more than the rest of us."

Ren groaned. "I tried once, but he dodged around the question like Xisuma always does." He reluctantly pulled his phone from his pocket.

**Ren**: yo X! Any clue what Doc is up to? I havent seen him in a wihle

**Xisuma**: I haven't. Would you like me to check for you?

**Ren**: nah, i can call him myself. Thanks tho!

Ren's finger hovered over the call button. He was desperate to find out what was keeping Doc so busy lately, but the fear of the answer clawed at his insides; or rather, the lack of an answer. If Doc didn't pick up, or refused to tell Ren anything, what would happen next? Ren shook the wild thoughts from his head. Surely he was overthinking things. Ren pressed the button, putting it on speaker phone for Grian, who had begun to braid Ren's hair.

After 4 rings, Ren was certain it would go to voice mail when Doc finally picked up. "Hello?"

"Doc? What's wrong, you sound exhausted!" Grian cried.

"Hey Doc, you're on speaker. Wassup?"

"Oh, hello. Uh, I'm just... working. On my project. Is there any reason for the call?"

Ren frowned, noticing how subdued Doc sounded, and the way his voice cracked. "Are you taking care of yourself? When can I come over and see you?"

"_No_!! I mean, that's fine," Doc coughed, covering up his outburst. "I've just been working hard is all. No need to come over here."

"Well if you don't want me to see your project, at least come to my place! I miss you man!" Ren surprised himself as his voice crackled, tears pricking at his eyes. He hadn't planned on crying about this, especially not in front of Doc and Grian.

Doc was silent for a moment. "I'll try my best. I've got to go now, bye Ren, bye Grian!" The phone signaled that Doc ended the call, flashing back to the home screen.

Neither hermit said anything while Grian tied off Ren's braid. It was an uncomfortable silence, and Ren's brain was running circles around itself. He noted with dry humor that he felt like a dog chasing its own tail.

Doc had been avoiding Ren for over a month now. Ren knew it probably wasn't his fault- after all, Doc said he's working on a project- but he couldn't help but fret over the situation. What if Doc wore himself into the ground? Ren would never forgive himself. What on earth could Doc be doing that he didn't want Ren involved? If this was Doc's way of ending their friendship, what was Ren supposed to do? They still lived on the same server together! Surely if they had been best friends for years now, they could work this out and still be friends! But then again, why was Doc acting so strange? They were best friends, and best friends don't keep secrets. Unless it's a surprise party, Ren amended, because he loved surprise parties. But his birthday was months away!

And round and round his thoughts chased each other until Grian spoke up. "The sun's setting. Let's get some sleep shall we? Everything always looks brighter in the morning."

Ren silently followed Grian upstairs, where the chaos of his towering house took full effect. The whole floor was one room, a conglomeration of strange shapes combined awkwardly. Despite the odd shape, the space held multiple beds, which were promptly put to use.

Ren fell asleep quickly, but even in his sleep he twisted and twitched, his mind conjuring every terrible scenario it could until morning.


	2. Night Shift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian wanted to hang out with Mumbo today, but he was busy. Luckily Ren calls, and the pair hangs out in Hermitville, but Grian has some concerns.

"Ughhh, Mumbooo......" Grian groaned. "Are you finished yet?"

"No Grian," Mumbo huffed. He sat up, wiping the redstone coating off his fingers and onto his khaki shorts. Grian teased him over the shorts, but they were far more comfortable than dress pants when doing redstone. "Is there no one else on the whole server who can play with you?"

Grian counted on his fingers, mouthing names slowly. "No, not really. I thought you weren't busy today!"

Mumbo sighed with a crooked smile, which tweaked his mustache upwards endearingly. "I'm not busy with Sahara, so I'm working on a personal project. I'm sorry Grian, but not today."

"I get it! I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

Mumbo nodded. "Tomorrow."

Grian returned to his base after that, floating passively in the water. His ears rested just below the water, and he relaxed as he listened to the ocean around him. He could hear magma blocks bubbling from the bottom of a ravine, and he could pick out a school of fish swimming by occasionally. Moments like these made him wonder why he ever left his underwater home. Life was so much so peaceful back then.

Now that he thought about it, it had been a while since he visited his underwater base. With a start, Grian dove beneath the surface, swimming gracefully through the mouth of the bottle, as he'd done countless times before. Instantly, he sighed, reveling in the silence. Up on the surface, there was always wind whipping across the water, waves splashing up the walls of his base, and even the faint sounds of machinery from Mumbo's island. Grian didn't realize how loud the would was until he found silence. Typically all the noise was comforting, but today, the peace and quiet was just what Grian needed.

He stepped quietly into the bedroom, finding his old bed still waiting patiently, the covers strewn across the floor from the last time he slept there. He picked them up slowly, sticking his nose in them. They smelled like sea salt, just like he remembered. Grian slowly made the bed, then laid on top of them, staring into the ceiling boards. It was totally silent aside from his slow heartbeat under his hands crossed over his chest.

In moments like these, Grian could truly think. Too many times, he got caught up in the excitement of new ideas and buildings, planning fun activities with his fellow hermits. His mind raced at a million miles a minute, and he had to sprint to keep up. He didn't often mind though, as he loved keeping busy and making something new with his hands. The silence was often a stimulator for him, forcing him to retreat into the chaos of his busy mind when there was nothing else to distract him. Today felt different for some reason, so Grian closed his eyes, simply focusing on the colors that danced behind his eyelids.

**Ren**: yo, u busy?

The buzz of his phone in his back pocket startled Grian into action. He scrambled to grab his phone, fumbling as he texted back in a flurry. Grian could only sit still for so long.

**Grian**: nope! Wanna hang out somewhere?

**Ren**: I'm thinkin small- chill in hermitville?

**Grian**: sounds like netflix and chill but okay lol

**Ren**: 😏😏💕

**Ren**: see u in 10

Grian pulled himself together quickly, gathering anything he might need before bolting into the Nether. He arrived in Hermitville within 5 minutes, panting with a grin as he spotted Ren from across town. Grian glided down to Ren, who stood in the middle of the road.

"How's it hangin, man? Just get out of the shower?" Ren sat in the dirt, patting the ground next to him.

"Meh, just swimming around my base. Mumbo's busy today so I'm glad you texted!" Grian laughed, running a hand through his damp hair.

Ren chuckled. "Yeah, I think 'meh' is the mood lately."

"Yeah?"

Ren simply shrugged. "Just life, ya know?"

Grian nodded. Everyone had off days, and Grian wanted desperately to help his friend forget his troubles. "Have you tried the Concorp Diamond Drop game yet? I heard Iskall made sooo many diamonds off it!"

"I haven't, let's go try it!"

Standing in the airplane, the pair double-checked their supplies. Ren shuddered as the cold wind whipped around him, sucking him towards the hole in the plane.

"It's a long drop, huh?" Ren peered out the hole, swaying woozily. He didn't get air sick too easily, but something about a plane was different than an elytra.

"Yeah, what a view!" Grian grinned widely as he joined Ren by the hole. "Ready?"

Ren grabbed Grian's hand, and the pair fell from the airplane. For a moment, time froze, and Ren felt like they were floating in the air. It was strangely peaceful, and it felt like they were the only people in the world. Ren had never felt this way when flying before. He marveled, wondering if this is why Grian loved flying so much.

Then, the wind slapped him in the face, sending him spinning. He clung desperately to Grian's hand, trying to calm the chaos, but Ren's vision blurred, and he couldn't tell up from down. It was over in mere seconds as both of them crashed into the earth, waking up in their beds on the ground.

"Aw, dangit! No diamonds for us!" Grian laughed.

Ren nodded slowly, attempting to calm the spinning in his head. "Maybe we should play an easier game."

Grian decided that Duck would be innocent enough, so they read the instructions briefly. "Alright, I'll go first, and you'll follow after, okay? See you at the end; fastest time wins!" Grian dove under the first bar, disappearing into the course, and Ren patiently waited 30 seconds before following.

"Ha!" Grian stood triumphant at the end, writing down his time quickly. "Hurry up Ren, I finished!"

No answer from inside. Maybe Ren was focused on going quickly, but he could've at least responded in some way. Grian peered into the exit, not finding any sign of Ren. "Hello?"

His stomach fluttered. "Ren, I'm coming back in!" Grian dove back into the water maze, searching desperately for a glimpse of a red shirt or blue eyes. The water stung at Grian's eyes as he darted to and fro, but Grian couldn't find any sign of Ren before splashing to the surface for air. Gasping for breath, Grian made one last check of the maze before clambering out the other side, leaping into the pig pen.

Grian carefully, but anxiously, shoved pigs out of the way, growing desperate to find any sign of Ren. This was supposed to be a harmless game! With a start, Grian spotted him between three pigs, face-down in the dirt. "Ren!"

Ren's head shot up, dirt covering his face. "Wha..."

Grian let out a tense laugh. "Did you fall asleep in here? What the heck man?"

"Hehe, I guess this game is so easy for me I just fell asleep! Let's get out of here..."

Once standing upright again, Grian looked over Ren critically. He swayed slightly as he stood, his eyes vacantly staring into the trees. He hadn't bothered to wipe the dirt from his clothes, and his ponytail was falling out.

Grian ran a hand over his cheek, cleaning off some dirt. "Ren, are you sleeping well?"

Ren just shrugged. "Yeah, I've got a great memory foam mattress, and- wait, why?"

Grian frowned. "Better question, how much have you been sleeping lately?"

This made Ren glance away quickly. "Well, you know how busy life gets with big projects and everything..."

"Let's get you back home, hm?" Grian wrapped a steady hand around Ren's shoulders, and he sank into Grian's grip gratefully. Ren was silent the whole walk, so Grian pondered. He wondered what could possibly be keeping Ren awake lately; he hadn't heard a word about a big project from him before now, so he suspected that was far from the truth.

They arrived in Hermitville as the sun sank behind the hills, sending a chill down Grian's spine. Ren sat on a log, and Grian quickly lit a fire in the fire pit. The strum of a guitar caught Grian's attention, and he glanced over his shoulder to find Ren holding his guitar. "Guitar, huh? Thought you were tired," Grian teased.

"It just feels right, ya know? Sitting around the campfire, playing guitar and singin.." Ren gazed into the fire wistfully.

Grian sat on the log next to Ren, watching the guitar with curiosity. "Know any good songs?"

Ren strummed again, beginning to softly sing. "I'm too much, or not enough, maybe everyone else is messed up..." he trailed off.

"Why'd you stop?"

"Sorry." Ren repositioned his fingers. "Well anyway, I can't seem to stay in just one state of mind...

Cause it's one thing, or another, I don't even know why I bother, something I just can't get around..." Ren's voice cracked, and he stopped singing, swiping at the tears falling down his cheeks.

Grian said nothing for a long time, the only sound being Ren's sniffling. "What's that song called?" He whispered.

"Just Apathy." Ren's voice was rough and quiet. "Sorry, I should probably get to bed." Ren slung his guitar over his shoulder, standing slowly.

"Night man. Hope your project goes well." Grian hugged him gently in farewell.

"Project?"

Grian frowned. "Your project? The one that's keeping you up late?"

"Oh right. Yeah, thanks."

Grian watched as Ren plodded into his house, stumbling up the step. As soon as Ren closed the door behind him, Grian flopped down in the grass with a sigh, staring up into the stars. Grian seemed to be having a very peaceful day, as he found that the fire crackling and ambient life around him was very helpful to focus his thoughts.

He was starting to get worried about Ren. He wasn't worried at first; everyone goes through sleep deprivation for a project sometimes. But, as Grian thought back on the day, he noticed Ren's odd behavior- particularly what he said just before leaving. Why would he have forgotten his own project? Why wouldn't he tell Grian what was really bothering him? Grian fell slowly into a restless sleep in the grass, his mind swirling with theories and questions.

He woke chilled to the bone, the grass clinging to his bare skin. It had started raining, and the crisp breeze blew right through him. He pulled himself to his feet and stumbled into his house blearily. A glance at the grandfather clock told him he had only been asleep for an hour. Exhausted, he shivered as he crawled under the covers. Despite how warm he was curled up in bed, Grian couldn't seem to fall asleep again, Ren reentering his mind.

It was a long six hours before the sun rose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates once a week! Follow me on Tumblr @rendiggitydog for more goofs and gaffs!


	3. Protest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Grian has found himself a new case, although Ren doesn’t exactly agree.

A soft knock at the door forced Ren to drag himself out of bed, groaning as his joints protested. He tripped on the rug, slamming his knee into the corner of the table with a shout. Rubbing his injured knee, he threw the door open with a scowl. "Whadda ya want?"

Grian shrank back, his eyes widening like a deer in the headlights. "I'm- I'm sorry, I just wanted to stop by- I'll go, sorry for bothering-“ Grian stepped away from the door.

Ren snagged Grian's arm, stopping him from running. "Wait, come back." He grimaced at his voice, which was still low and rough from waking up.

Grian spun around, startled. Ren felt the fear radiating off him, and deflated with a sigh. "Sorry G, I just woke up. I hope I didn't scare you too bad."

Grian disentangled himself from Ren's grip, eyeing him closely. "It's fine, I get it. Just wanted to make sure you slept well, and I wanted to see if I could grab you any materials for your project," Grian murmured.

"I slept okay, thanks man. I've, uh, got everything I need, but thank you. Sorry again."

"No problem." Grian waved goodbye, taking off instantly. Ren watched him fly away, kicking himself mentally for that whole exchange.

What was that? Grian had such a visceral look of terror, Ren was worried he'd done something wrong. They were friends; Grian had no reason to react like that, even if Ren looked grumpy. He flopped onto his bed with a sigh. Nothing seemed to be going right lately. A bizarre thought crossed Ren's mind, and he nearly pushed it away. A shiver crawled down his spine. Maybe Grian had a bad life before coming to Hermitcraft, and it was reflex for him to react with fear. But then again, that would mean Grian remembered his past life, which was extremely rare- Of all the hermits only Xisuma and Joe remembered their lives before Hermitcraft. Also, if that was true, Ren thought he would have shown signs of his memory long before now. How could Grian have hid this for so long?

None of that made any sense though. Surely Ren just made an angry face that startled Grian. With a groan, Ren crawled under his blanket. It was too early for this crap.

Ren must have dozed off, because a soft knock at the door woke him again. This time, he made sure his wits were about him before opening the door with a smile. Grian greeted him, albeit more cautiously. "Hey Ren, how're you feeling?"

"Fine, thanks. Listen, I'm sorry about what happened earlier, I just woke up, and I dunno what came over me-"

"-No, I'm sorry Ren. I hoped you would be more chipper after a good nights rest, but clearly I caught you at a bad time," Grian paused, seemingly wanting to say more. "Can we talk real quick?"

Ren froze, running through all the things Grian might want to talk about, instantly recalling his thoughts about Grian's past. "Sure, wanna come inside?"

"No, that's fine." Grian kicked at the corner of the doormat that was curling up. "Ren, tell me the truth. There's no big project, is there? You're losing sleep over Doc." His tone left no room to argue.

Ren's blood ran cold. "I mean yeah, that's part of it, but-" He wasn't expecting to have this conversation today. He really was a bad liar.

"What's going on man? How much do you know about Doc?" Grian's voice held an edge that hinted he knew more than he let on, which sent a jolt of nerves through him.

Ren sighed. "Look, I don't know much. I know it's normal for everyone to get caught up in projects, but this one feels different somehow. He dodges the subject, he won't answer my calls, and it doesn't even sound like he's having fun. He sounds miserable," Ren choked, coming to terms with his concerns.

Grian nodded, like that was the answer he expected. "Right. Well guess what? I was just talking to Cub over in the Nether Hub and he told me that Scar has been weird too." Grian nodded animatedly as Ren furrowed his brow. "I know right! It doesn't tell us much, but maybe they're working together on the project."

Ren nodded slowly. "You could be right. I dunno, I hate to meddle where it's not my place, ya dig? I'm sure he's got a fine reason, and I'm losing sleep over nothing." Mentioning sleep made Ren yawn, which made Grian frown deeper.

"Doc has no idea what he's doing to you mentally, man. If he knew, I'm sure he'd come running over here and explain everything. You need to call him again."

Ren just shook his head. "I'm not going to bother Doc any more, okay?"

"Fine, let me do it for you! You don't deserve to suffer over this crap, when I find Doc I'm gonna-"

Ren set a gentle hand on Grian's shoulder. "G, I'm not going to bother Doc and neither are you, got it?"

Grian heaved a sigh. "Fine, I won't. But you have to promise to sleep every night, okay?"

"Okay, okay," Ren chuckled. "I better get to work now."

"Bye Ren!"

Ren watched as Grian ran off, taking flight and disappearing into the clouds. With a sigh, Ren collapsed against the doorframe. He missed Doc a lot, and it was obvious. But, that didn't give Ren the right to meddle where he didn't belong. He learned this lesson last season with Iskall; sharing an island has it's pros and cons. On one hand it was a blast staying up late partying, but on the other hand, they both learned the importance of boundaries. Surely if Doc hadn’t told him the details, it was a secret on purpose. This wasn't going to be easy...

—

With a determined scowl set on his face, Grian flew through the Nether portal, nearly slamming into a wall as he burst into the Nether Hub. He threw a quick glance around, wondering where to start his search for Doc, when a hermit appeared in Grian's periphery. "Aha! Scar, we need to talk!"

Scar froze, glancing around. "Uh, what's up?"

"I have reason to believe you and Doc are working on a secret project together. What can you tell me?" Grian put on a detective voice, running up to Scar.

Scar stumbled away as Grian approached, searching for a non-existent escape. He pressed against the black wall, eyeing Grian carefully. "What are- How much detail are you looking for, Sherlock Grian?"

"Well, Doc hasn't been seen in person for over a month. Can you give me any idea where he might be?"

"Physically, no. Our project needs to be in an undisclosed location. He's doing just fine otherwise; just busy..."

"Well that's good! Next question: is this endeavor a scheme to make diamonds?"

"Well, no? It's difficult to say, but not really." Scar shoved his hands in his pockets, his wandering eyes growing more anxious by the second. "Anything else?"

"Final question: when are you gonna be done?" Grian's voice grew steely, although he certainly didn't mean to.

"Well, ah, you see... I mean, there's no real way to tell with these things... and, you know Doc, ahah...." Scar trailed off, flushing brightly. "Can I go?"

"Yeah, sorry for holding you up for so long. Real quick, don't tell Doc this, but-" Grian lowered his voice to a whisper. "Ren is tearing himself apart without Doc. If he wants to keep the project secret, fine, but he should make an effort to talk to his best friend."

Scar swallowed, taking in the information. "I'll... I'll let him know, okay?"

"You better," Grian teased. "You're lucky I'm not going to follow you to wherever this secret project is and drag Doc home myself, got it? I care about my friends, and I wanna figure this out."

Scar nodded silently, not moving a muscle until Grian had long disappeared through a random portal. As soon as Grian appeared in the overworld, he heaved a sigh, running through the conversation again in his head. Cub was right; Scar was acting very strange. Grian tried his best to keep a light tone with Scar, but Scar's reactions suggested otherwise. He seemed jumpy and scared. Scared of what, Grian wasn't sure yet.

Yet. Grian was determined to find out exactly what was going on. He did feel a little silly- after all, it seemed to just be two hermits working on a project together- but Grian felt like something bigger was going on. He also felt slightly guilty about his detective plans after Ren specifically asked him not to. Grian wanted to respect Ren's wishes; of course he did! But as a third party, he could see the true nature of the situation. His client was under duress, and it was his job to amend the situation by whatever means necessary. There was definitely some sort of bigger scheme in the works here.

And he was going to find out what.


	4. Sugar Cane Story Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zedaph and Cub do some unexpected bonding.

**Cub**: By chance does anyone have any spare sugar cane?

**Mumbo**: How much you looking for?

**Cub**: 3 shulker boxes?

**Mumbo**: 😬

**Grian**: why on earth do you need that much sugar cane ???

**Cub**: My farm is going towards making cakes, but I need a lot of books at the moment.

**Zedaph**: I got you! Meet u by Hermity?

**Cub**: Sounds good.

Cub glided to a stop at the base of the statue, spotting Zed already leaning in the entrance. "Hey, thank you so much!"

Zed stood up, pulling out a green shulker box. "No problem! My pyramid base makes waaay more sugar cane than I can use."

"Well thank you nonetheless." Cub accepted the box gratefully. "What have you been up to lately? I feel like I never see you anymore!"

Zedaph laughed. "I know, right? I've been spending a lot of time in Hermitville working on my Duck game, but I just finished it this week! It's weird not having anything to work on, so I'm just hangin out I guess."

"Ive been busy with a new villager trading and enchanting building in ConCorp, so haven't played Duck yet!" Cub paused for a second. "Would you like to spend the day with me? Scar's busy with Doc, so I'd appreciate an extra set of hands at ConCorp.”

Zed lit up like a Christmas tree. "I’d love to! Let's go!"

They returned to ConCorp, and Cub threw the doors open to the new building he was working on. "This is going to be the library, complete with librarians, enchanting tables and level farms." Cub gestured widely to the currently-empty room, a light sparking in his eyes. "I need your help to make books and hire workers while I work on the redstone, alright?"

Zed saluted with a grin. "Aye aye! Give me some leads and let's get started!"

For the first half an hour, Zed worked tirelessly to convince villagers to move into the new building, but they weren't having it. He bargained, bribed, pushed and pulled, but the ornery villagers hardly budged an inch. With his generous patience wearing thin, Zedaph returned to the building and plopped down on the floor, beginning to make some bookshelves to fill the room. The monotonous task was less frustrating, although it ended in far more smashed fingers and splinters.

Nearly three hours passed, and Zed took a step back to admire his handiwork. With the shelves lined up in small box-like arrangements, it almost looked like a room full of enchanting cubicles. With a deep sigh, Zedaph stretched his legs and sat down to begin making the books to fill the shelves. Not long after, Cub threw himself down next to Zed, helping assemble the books silently.

The pair fell into rhythm, shuffling pages and binding covers wordlessly. Zed knew he loved all the hermits equally, but noted that he had never spent any time alone with Cub. The realization made Zed smile, appreciating the silence even more. Cub may not be the chattiest hermit, but he had a confident yet comfortable air about him, which Zed leaned into happily.

As the sun began to set, Zedaph realized how long they had been tirelessly working. He glanced around, pleasantly surprised by the amount of bookshelves that were steadily filling up. He stretched his spine, wincing at the stiffness. Carefully, he stepped around Cub and the mess of papers they had made across the floor, heading back to the villager center.

This late in the evening, most of the villagers were in bed already, making Zedaph's job that much easier. He cornered a couple librarians, dragging the drowsy villagers into the facility. "Got some workers!"

Cub's head snapped up, and he rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his lab coat quickly. "Excellent, thank you. They can wait in that pen until the rest of the room is done." Cub waved vaguely to a shabby fenced-off corner, which Zedaph herded the villagers into gently.

As Zed returned to Cub's side, he noticed his red eyes, and the way he refused to make eye contact now. With any other hermit it may have just been the lack of sleep catching up with them, but not Cub. He had these piercing blue eyes that never seemed to leave you as you spoke. They bored into your soul like lasers in the best way possible.

"Hey, you feeling alright man? Do you need to lay down? We can finish in the morning if you want," Zed offered, rubbing Cub's back gently.

Cub shook his head nearly imperceptibly. "I'll be fine. Let's finish up real quick."

Zed sat down slowly, pushing stray papers aside. "Are you sure? It's okay if you're not feeling well, we've got all the time in the world."

This time Cub shook his head violently, snatching up a stack of papers. "I'm fine. Let's work."

Zedaph complied, silently returning to work. He was growing concerned for Cub now, but he supposed this was just how Cub was during projects. He was known for the insane hours he would put into his work, disregarding basic human needs until it was done. Zedaph has never witnessed this in person, so he could only assume this attitude coming out was the sleep deprivation kicking in. At least this was a fairly short project, he mused. They could be done by tomorrow afternoon, maybe even morning if they hurried. Zed picked up his pace.

It was nearly three in the morning when Cub spoke up out of nowhere, startling Zed. "Where do you think you came from before Hermitcraft?"

The question shocked Zedaph into silence for a moment. "Well, I'm not really sure. I've always imagined- or maybe hoped- that I came from a loving family, with lots of friends... maybe even a wife and kids. I bet I was a performer of some kind, hosting a television show or a circus or something. I dunno, I feel like I have an entertaining streak in me." Zed shrugged.

He acted like he hadn't thought about it every day of his life. Like he didn't long for a wife and kids to love, even if that meant he had to say goodbye to them when he joined Hermitcraft. Like he didn't lay in bed every night, wondering why he was here in the first place. Most people didn't remember their past lives when they're brought to a new server; the only ones on Hermitcraft were Xisuma and Joe, and Xisuma hardly counted since Admin always remember. Joe however, he was an interesting case. He technically wasn't an admin, but there were rumors that he might've gotten hold of certain administrative powers in his home world, which complicated things when he switched servers. Joe and Xisuma didn't talk about their pasts very often- too stressful, for obvious reasons. "What about you, Cub?"

Cub let out a long breath. "I imagine I might have worked in a scientific facility; likely in redstone. What I really wonder is if I knew Scar before we came to Hermitcraft. Is that feasible? I've never heard of that happening, but we don't have many scientific logs on the issue. I just feel like I've known Scar my whole life, you know?" Cub's voice wavered as he rambled.

"Of course. I think you guys definitely did- I've seen the way you practically read each other's minds! Sometimes I think I knew Tango in a past life; he reminds me of someone, but I don't know who."

Cub nodded. "Exactly. I don't know what I would do without Scar, honestly. He's like my other half, and always has been."

Zedaph smiled. "I'm glad you have someone like that in your life."

Cub muttered under his breath as he swiped at the tear that was making its way down his face.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Not like I have anyone like that right now, do I? Scar sure isn't here helping me with our villager project, hm?" Cub's voice was even and composed, but tears poured down his cheeks.

Zed didn't know how to respond to that, so they fell into a tense silence. Zed mulled over what Cub said with a pained heart. He didn't know where Scar was, or what he was doing today, but apparently it made Cub pretty upset. Zedaph knew how that felt, because he'd said the same things about Tango countless times. Tango always seemed to have a big redstone project in the works, and that frequently meant Zed took a back seat. As much as Zedaph griped about it, he was never truly mad; he could never be mad at Tango, and he was sure Cub felt the same way about Scar.

"...hey Cub? I love you, okay? Even if we don't know where we came from, I'm glad I'm here with you right now."

Cub sniffled, collapsing against Zedaph's shoulder. "Thank you Zed. For everything today."

Zed smiled, rubbing Cub's back. "Thank you Cub, for being a good friend."

Cub's hiccups faded as his breathing evened out, deepening into long sighs, which made Zed yawn. He leaned back against the wall, being sure not to disturb the sleeping Cub on his shoulder. They slept like that until noon the next morning, soft greyish light filling the room as the sound of rain filled the comforting silence.


	5. Spring Cleaning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a grand old time with a couple Architech boys! Bit of an in between chapter, but everyone loves some good fluff.

"MMMMMUMBOOOOOO!!!" Grian dove into the pool, splashing water all over place and startling the poor owner of said pool.

"Grian!" Mumbo sputtered. He swiped his dripping hair away from his face, scowling as the culprit pulled himself out of the pond with a laugh. "What on earth!"

"Sorry Mumbo! The pond was right there, I had to! Anyway, what's up?" Grian casually shook out his hair with a grin.

"Well, I was tidying my storage area, but now I'm going to get a dry change of clothes." Mumbo laughed.

Grian followed him up the water elevator, giggling as Mumbo slipped on the wet glass. Mumbo threw a glare over his shoulder, pulling off his shoes. "You lost your laughing privileges when you drenched me in water."

Grian stifled another laugh as Mumbo dropped his suit coat, which fell to the floor with a slap. "Fine, fine."

"So, do you have any plans for today?" Mumbo tossed his wet shirt aside, grabbing a plain white tee and pulling it over his head with some difficulty.

"Eh, not much. I thought you might have some plans so I could hang out with you!"

Mumbo twirled his finger, and Grian quickly turned himself around. He heard some shuffling, and when he spun back around Mumbo had pulled on a pair of khakis, and was snapping on his suspenders. "Well you're in luck, because I'm spending the whole day reorganizing my storage system! Yay!" Mumbo weakly smiled.

"Aw, Spring cleaning? But it's not even Spring!" Grian cried.

"Yeah, I know. I'd rather go have fun with you, but sometimes we have to get the grindy work done," Mumbo sighed.

Grian contemplated that. "It's always better to have company; I'll help!"

Mumbo visibly relaxed, compassion filling his eyes. "I was hoping you would say that. You're a good friend, Grian- _Sometimes_." He motioned to the puddles of water with a smirk.

Grian shrugged with a laugh. "I'll take it. Now, where do you want my help?"

"Well, I'm not really sure honestly." Mumbo ducked his head with a bashful grin as the duo returned to the storage system. "I really need to change how the chests are arranged; they used to be alphabetical, but I want them to be sorted by likeness now."

Grian frowned, staring down the large aisle of chests. "How do we decide what things are alike enough to put close together?"

"Exactly... I suppose the best way to decide is the get started, no?"

"I guess you're right. You take the left side, I'll take the right?"

They set to work, heaving armfuls of items onto the floor as they discussed the best way to organize them. It was lighthearted and fun, like all projects with the original Architech boys, if not a little convoluted by the banter. They quickly decided that the chests were rather nasty inside, the bottom corners filled with dust and random garbage, so before any items could be put in their proper chests, they had to be cleaned out.

They were barely an hour in when Grian started causing trouble. Dust was floating through the air, a film of the stuff obscuring their vision. They were both sniffly and sneezy from all the dust, but Grian was certainly getting the worst of it. After a fit of ten sneezes in a row, Mumbo began to be concerned for Grian's health.

"Grian, do you need to take a break? You don't sound too well."

Restraining a sneeze, Grian laughed. "Yeah, probably a good idea."

Relieved that Grian was taking a break, Mumbo set back to work. The dust only got worse, and Mumbo's eyes watered painfully. If he could keep working for a little longer, Grian would come back, and they could trade off taking breaks. Mumbo absently wondered if Grian had asthma or something, the way he was sneezing. Suddenly concerned, Mumbo set to work even harder, hoping to finish before Grian came back into the dusty area.

—

"Dude, you're still going?" Grian's bright voice made Mumbo hop up startled.

"Grian! You should get out of here, it's way too dusty for you!"

"For me? But I'm fine! I just went to take a nap, what are you on about?"

Mumbo furrowed his brow, confused. "But you were sneezing so much, I was worried about you!" The bashful grin growing on Grian's face told Mumbo everything. "You _lied_?"

Grian just giggled. "Sorry, I was tired!"

"Fine, lets have some lunch, but next time it's _your_ turn to work for a change."

They stepped away from the project, enjoying a light lunch before they returned to work. Eight hours into their mission, they came to terms with just how daunting a task they had set for themselves. They had finally finished washing the chests, but now all the items were strewn across the floor, making it impossible to walk anywhere without stepping in a pile of redstone dust or shattering some glowstone. They had initially planned to stop for the evening when they had dinner, but once Grian set his mind to something, he didn't give up easily. They kept working late into the night, throwing up extra torches to keep the phantoms away while they worked.

Mumbo glanced around the area, heaving a sigh. He felt like they had done a lot of work today, but looking around you sure couldn't tell. When they were cleaning the chests they attempted to keep the items in tidy piles, to help keep everything organized. To quote Grian, his middle name was tidy, so obviously the items were instantly tossed to and fro without a second thought. Dirt ended up in the diamonds, and turtle eggs ended up in the terracotta. It was a disaster, and Mumbo was having a hard time focusing because of it. He had never truly considered himself a neat freak, but a tidy base meant a tidy mind for Mumbo. It was impossible to leave home without all his shulker boxes being neatly lined up and organized, ready for his next venture, so this was pure chaos.

Mumbo carefully took a few steps over to a large pile of saplings that had managed to stay together. As Mumbo attempted to find his footing in the mess, he found himself sliding across the floor, only catching himself from falling by using a long stick nearby for balance. He picked up the culprit with a scowl, and then confusion. Mumbo swore he had picked up all the ender pearls already, and yet every time he turned around he was slipping on them like marbles.

"Grian, are you sure we put away all the ender pearls?" Mumbo threw another pearl in the chest with a sigh.

"Well, I'm not really- Oi, what are you doing?" Grian leapt over a pile of sand, digging through the chest Mumbo had just thrown the pearl into. He pawed through the box, dumping all the ender pearls onto the floor, which rolled away in every direction. With gentle care, he picked up some nearby chicken eggs and began to place them carefully in the now-empty box.

"Grian! Stop pulling the pearls out of the pearl chest!" Mumbo cried, scrambling to round up the marbles.

"No, it's the egg chest, see?" Grian revealed the pile of eggs tucked carefully into the box with a smile.

"But this section of chests is supposed to have valuable items in- oh, I get it..."

Grian dissolved into a fit of giggles, falling to the floor as he kicked his feet. Mumbo gently nudged him with his foot, laughing gently. "You're deliriously tired Gri, are you about ready to be done working for the day?"

Grian's laughing trailed off as he took a moment to process Mumbo's words. "What do you mean, _me_? This is your storage system!"

"Yeah, but _you_ were the one who wanted to keep working until midnight!" Mumbo laughed.

"Hey, we were working together! And look how far we got!" Grian motioned around him. While they had already finished over half the chests, the other half was thrown all over the floor, making it look like a tornado had ripped through the base. "Huh..."

Mumbo could only smile wearily. "You can sleep here if you'd like, but we really need to stop for today. We can always finish tomorrow, right?"

Grian's eyes flashed with annoyance before a huge yawn shook his frame. "I guess so. But we start first thing in the morning, okay?"

"Sure. Let's go make you a bed before the phantoms snatch you up, hm?"

A bed was hastily made and thrown down next to Mumbo's, where the pair instantly collapsed. Mumbo crawled under his covers, curling up into a tight ball, while Grian opted to sprawl on top of the sheets. He gazed up into the night sky, watching as phantom silhouettes caused stars to blink in and out of sight. The air was still, aside from Mumbo's soft breathing and the waves crashing below them. This was where Grian could truly relax.


	6. Starlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian gets existential about the stars and then has a panic attack.

Grian gazed up into the stars, contemplating their existence. What purpose did stars serve? To entertain Grian at night? To help people navigate by the North Star? To coat the phantoms in a dull silver glow as they swooped down on unsuspecting hermits?

Grian supposed those were pretty good reasons. He appreciated that he could see the phantoms at night, and he loved connecting the dots between stars when he couldn't sleep. No matter how busy a day he'd had, or how many days he had gone without sleep, Grian often found himself drawing with the stars. They were like silent friends in a way; always there to listen and twinkle when Grian needed them most.

"Mumbo, are you awake?"

No response. Grian hadn't expected one; Mumbo slept like a baby every night. Grian was envious of that sometimes, but he would miss his talks with the stars if he always slept that well.

His mind wandered as he grew bored of the stars, beginning to trace the ridges of Mumbo's base with his eyes. The strange endrods had a cool, eerie glow about them, matching the crisp breeze blowing through the base. It wasn't quite autumn yet, but it was getting darker at night, and the air nipped at your nose if you stood outside for too long.

Now thinking about how chilly the wind was, Grian curled up on his side, tucking his face under the blanket. He watched Mumbo from his small peephole, observing him silently.

This was the most relaxed Grian had ever seen Mumbo before. His face was soft and ageless, his mouth slightly open in a gentle smile. His hair and mustache were fluffy, with some strands sticking to the blanket with static electricity. Grian watched the slow rise and fall of his breathing, and simply appreciated his friend. Grian loved everyone on Hermitcraft obviously, but he'd always felt a special connection to Mumbo; he wasn't truly sure why, but he did.

Slowly, a frown soured Grian's face. He recalled Ren, and the situation with Doc. Once again, Grian found himself leaning on a sort of sixth sense, getting the feeling that all wasn't as it seemed with Doc and Scar. Grian couldn't say exactly why he felt that way, but the more he thought about it, the more agitated he grew. Doc was acting weird, and Scar was helping him cover it up. Why? What on earth were they doing? How could they be so ignorant of how their actions were affecting those around them? Grian supposed he had a certain predisposition for noticing those things because of his personal experiences, but none of the other hermits knew that. They didn't believe there was a problem, and they didn't believe Grian. He knew how this would end, just like it did before.

"Was' wrong Gri?" Mumbo tiredly mumbled, propping himself up in his bed, which startled Grian out of his dark spiral.

"Oh, sorry Mumbo, did I wake you up? I'm just thinking to myself, you should sleep." Grian waved him off, pulling the blanket even closer around himself to prove his point.

Mumbo simply smiled in that gentle way he always did. "I didn't know thinking involved grinding your teeth and staring daggers into me in my sleep."

Grian flushed in embarrassment. "Did I do that? Sorry, I wasn't mad at you or anything. You can sleep now," Grian encouraged, feeling infinitely more guilty that he woke Mumbo up.

"No, I'm awake now." Mumbo sat up, pulling his comforter around his shoulders. "What's on your mind?"

Grian hesitated, but conceded, sitting up as well. "Ya see, it's about Ren, Doc, and Scar."

Mumbo nodded. "I was talking to Stress the other day, and she said that Cub told her all about how odd Scar's acting. So what's wrong?"

"So, it's kind of a long story, and I think a lot of it happened in my head? Basically, Doc is super busy, and not telling anyone about it- not even Ren! Ren's losing sleep over it, so then I was talking to Cub, and he told me Scar was being weird and secretive too. Obviously, the whole thing was super suss. I tried to go find Doc, but I ran into Scar, who basically told me everything was fine, and to leave them alone while they work." Grian stopped to catch his breath. "I don't know what to do! I mean, they're our friends, so they wouldn't hurt us on purpose, but Doc has no clue what he's doing to Ren mentally! I wanna find him and give him a piece of my mind, and oh boy-"

A soft hand rested on Grian's shoulder, stopping his rant. Mumbo sat on the edge of Grian's bed, his own blanket wrapped tightly around him. "Grian, I know this is worrying you, and I can see why, but take a step back. Like you said, Doc isn't doing this on purpose. We just need to trust our friends, and support their projects, secret or not."

"Wait- what?" Grian sputtered. "Come on man! What, you want me to sit here like nothing's happening? As if!"

"No, of course we're doing to do something! We're going to support Ren, and spend more time with him while he's missing Doc. How does that sound?"

Grian pursed his lips. "Okay, that's great and all, but I'm not letting Doc off scotch free here. I'll hang out with Ren during the day, and I'll solve the mystery of Scar and Doc in the evening!"

Mumbo sighed. "How did I know you would say that? Grian, drop it. It's not your business, okay?"

Grian's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding? I thought you were on my side!"

Mumbo flinched at that comment, and Grian felt guilty for a second. "Grian, you're my friend; of course I'm on your side. But, sometimes you need to step back and think about these things logically. Why are you getting so defensive over nothing?" Mumbo reasoned.

Mumbo's words floated in his vision, clouding the room. This was far too familiar, far too painful. Mumbo didn't mean it, Grian chanted, he didn't mean it. He took deep gulps of air, drowning in it. He couldn't handle it, not alone. Not again. Not again, oh lord not again. Grian felt himself falling into a spiral again as he scrambled to free himself from the mind cage he was building. It was too much, far too much, but Grian needed to hold on. He wasn't too far gone. Taking a gasping breath, he rubbed his pajamas, attempting to stay grounded. The world was spinning uncontrollably, but at least there was a world to spin. He continued like that, taking a deep breath, gripping his pajamas, and trying to stop the spinning. At some point he noticed Mumbo's arms around him, and he leaned into that. Mumbo was wrapping his arms around the world, helping the spinning slow down. Within a few minutes, he noticed the hot tears streaking his cheeks, and he knew he was at least semi-conscious.

"How are you feeling?" Mumbo whispered, barely audible above the throbbing in Grian's head.

"Meh," was all he could manage to get out.

"Sleep would be good for you. Is it okay if I let go now?"

Grian took a deep breath and nodded. Mumbo slowly let go, and the cold air instantly made Grian shiver. He slowly grabbed his blanket, his limbs feeling like jello. He flopped over, exhaustion taking over his body. He took shaky breaths, attempting to even his breathing enough to sleep when his phone buzzed.

Grian glanced at his phone, thrown onto the floor by his fit earlier. He picked it up slowly, staring blankly at the glowing screen.

After a moment of silence, Mumbo spoke up from the edge of his bed where he sat anxiously. "Who was it?"

"It's..."

**Xisuma**: Hey Grian.

**Xisuma**: We need to talk.

**Xisuma**: Immediately.


	7. Cherry Pits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cub and Scar have a chat for the first time in months, and it goes about as well as you think.

Cub dropped the lid of the chest, jumping as it slammed loudly. The shopping district was dead at this time of day, which made the normally busy area eerily silent. It was the best time of day to restock all the ConCorp shops. Though, if he was being frankly honest, most of the shops didn't need restocking. The big move to Hermitville drew customers away; he just needed something to distract him from Scar. But, of course, he wasn't being frankly honest, so he lied to himself, saying he needed to keep his head in the game or he would fall out of the habit. Entrepreneurship was a rough business, and Cub wouldn't back down for a second.

He drudged past Cherry, all too aware of the fact that it was void of any friendly air it used to hold, now cold and empty without Scar taking care of it. Cub wandered in without quite meaning to, running a hand over the table as he walked past, picking up dust. Something so small shouldn't have made shivers run down his spine like it did. The area was dark, even darker than Scar's typical build. The few torches scattered around the area had been pulled off the walls, likely used by hermits traversing the area at night. The chests were devoid of items as well, with only scraps of paper explaining the now-irrelevant prices sitting in the bottom.

"Cub? What are you doing here?"

Cub whirled around, the voice bringing tears to his eyes instantly. Even through the blinding tears, it was clearly Scar standing in the road, watching Cub with a strange expression. In an instant, Cub analyzed Scar's slouched stance, the way he stuffed his hands in his pockets and his hat hung over his eyes. Cub couldn't help but run over to Scar, throwing his arms around him.

"Woah, hey man! You feelin alright?" Scar laughed, but Cub could hear the exhaustion in his voice.

"Are you doing okay? Are you staying safe? How far is your project from medical aid?" The words spilled from Cub's mouth like a frantic waterfall. He was never one for sharing his emotions, but with Scar it was a different story.

"I'm fine, really! Just a little tired. The real question is, are _you_ okay?" Scar pulled himself out of the hug, looking Cub up and down.

"Doesn't matter that much. Are you coming back for good? What are you doing here? Are you hurt?" Cub felt himself getting lightheaded, like he was moving in slow motion while the world whirled around him. He brushed a loose hair from Scar's face, his heart aching. He knew that he missed Scar a lot, but it was painfully clear now that he saw Scar in front of him for the first time in months.

Scar simply smiled, and Cub felt like he was seeing color for the first time. "I'm fine, really. Are you sure you're feeling alright? You seem... frazzled." Scar spoke gently.

"No I'm, I'm fine, really! See, I was just restocking the ConCorp shops! Everything is going great!" Suddenly Cub felt a sinking in his chest, a feeling that made him swallow thickly, heat crawling up his face.

Scar sighed. "You're a mess. We've been best friends for how long now? You never lie to me! What's going on Cub, you can tell me." Scar set a gentle hand on his shoulder, and Cub jumped.

"I'm- Ah, I'm just, well... and ya see, I'm... I miss you." Cub's eyes burned, and he did all he could to resist rubbing them like a child.

Scar's eyes spoke a million words as he straightened his hat nervously. "Cub, I miss you too, you know this. But you have to believe me when I say this is the most important project I've ever been a part of. I've been sworn to secrecy, but that doesn't mean we can't still hang out like the Convex we are!" Scar consoled.

Cub didn't trust his voice not to crack, so he collapsed onto the floor of Cherry, head in his hands. Scar instantly sat next to him, rubbing small circles in his back as he sobbed. Tears poured from his eyes, and looking back he noted that he couldn't recall the last time he had genuinely cried like this.

Five minutes later, Cub had finally relaxed enough to rasp through the last stray tears. "You keep saying nothing has changed, but it has. We can't do Convex things because you're busy all the time."

"I guess... But, I've been working extra hours at the project, so hopefully I can spend the weekends at home! How great is that!" Scar smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Scar, what are you doing there?"

This made Scar freeze up, his fingers fiddling with the collar of his coat. "Ah, well, what makes you ask? It's top secret you know."

Cub shook like a leaf. He figured he would be crying again if he hadn't cried them all out a minute ago. "Scar, I can't do this without you. Don't you understand?"

Scar's eyes flitted around, pain pulling at his features. "Cub, where is this coming from? This isn’t the first time we’ve been apart, and I don’t understand why you can’t support me here."

"This is different! I have no idea what you're doing out there! I thought you could trust your best friend with something so simple!" Cub snapped.

Scar's mouth hung open. "Cub, I..."

"No!" Cub stood up. "You don't understand what you’re doing! See my side for once!"

"Cub, you're clearly not feeling well. You can't let your emotions blind you!" Scar stood as well, now towering over Cub intimidatingly.

"I'm not! You'd think I'm the only sane person here, seeing all the creeping around you're doing!"

"That's uncalled for! There are _lives_ on the line here Cub! Use your big brain for something other than money for once!" Scar cried.

Cub turned away, shaking violently. He had never understood the phrase 'blind rage' before, but now it was painfully clear. He couldn't see straight, and every time his heart beat, his blood boiled. Cub didn’t consider himself an emotion person, let alone angry, but something about this was different. He felt like he was watching this scene as an outsider, having no input as his body sprung into action. “Scar, decide. The project, or me."

Scar's shocked silence gave Cub the slightest moment of gratification. "Cub you don't understand, I promised him."

"You're right, I don't understand. Too bad you won't tell me what's happening. Sounds like you're choosing the project over me," Cub deadpanned.

"Cub, it's not black and white like that! Why won't you believe me!" Scar yelled. The shake in his voice made it obvious he was crying.

"You haven't given me anything to believe. Sorry Scar, but if you’ll excuse me, I need to restock _my_ shops." He threw one last glance over his shoulder, watching Scar's heartbroken gaze shrink as Cub stalked away. He thought he would feel gratification, but it just made his insides twinge. It was for the best though, of course. If Scar felt like the project was more important than Cub, that was fine. Cub could run ConCorp by himself; he basically already did, even when Scar _was_ around. If anything, this would be more beneficial in the long run. Without needing to confer with a partner, Cub could make executive decisions faster and easier. Yes, this would be for the best; for both of them.

Cub stepped around a corner out of Scar's line of sight and doubled over in pain. His stomach twisted and turned. He wanted to vomit. He couldn't do this. He was nothing without Scar. Scar was his emotional balance, his partner in crime, his home away from home, and now he was nothing. Cub couldn't do it.


	8. Interview Central

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s past midnight, and Xisuma is interrogating hermits, but it’s bringing up more questions than answers.

When Xisuma texted Grian to meet up at one in the morning, he wasn't sure how alert Grian would be, but he certainly didn't expect this. Grian tapped his fingers on his leg, his eyes dancing around the room. The anxious energy radiated off of him in waves, making Xisuma more nervous than he already was. "So Grian, how are you doing?"

Grian blinked out of his trance. "Oh uh, just fine X, how about you?" His answer was robotic, and his fingers couldn't stop fidgeting.

"Just fine. I'm sure you're wondering why I texted you so late." X wasted no time dodging around the issue. He had texted quite a few hermits tonight, and he had already wasted most of the moonlight hours searching for Doc.

"Yeah, I am wondering. What's wrong? You made it sound important." Grian finally looked up at Xisuma, and he couldn’t tell if it was a lighting glitch causing the deep dark circles under his eyes. A bubble of anxiety crawled up in X, and he was gripped by the urge to ask more about Grian's past. He was running short on time tonight, but this was important.

"I just want to make sure you're doing alright. Misunderstandings like this tend to dig up old memories, don't they?" Xisuma prodded.

"Yeah, they do... You're talking about Scar and Doc, right?"

X raised an eyebrow. Grian dodged his question easily, but not perfectly, which almost made for stronger evidence that Xisuma's assumptions were right. "Yeah. I've heard rumor that you're the expert on the issue, correct?"

"I wouldn't say expert, but I've talked to a few people." Grian nodded. "How much do you know?"

"About what you would imagine," Xisuma commented vaguely. If he was honest, he didn't know much about Doc and Scar's situation, which is what brought him here at this hour. There were a lot of strange things happening around the server, but Grian couldn't know that his fearless admin was completely clueless, and frankly concerned.

"Oh, then do you know what they're working on? Or where? Because it's all pretty suspicious if you ask me, and-" Grian's eyes were locked onto X now, and they screamed fear, a fear deeper than an innocent concern for friends. Grian was definitely hiding something, and it was big.

"Grian, I know this is probably hard for you, but none of this confusion is their fault. I don't know all the details, but they're innocent in this, and you can't do anything to change the situation this time."

_"This time_?" Grian muttered to himself as he raised an eyebrow. "You wanted to know what I know, right? Ren is stressed over Doc, Cub is worried about Scar, and Scar made it sound like they were raising the dead out in the middle of nowhere." Grian folded his arms definitely.

Xisuma analyzed his face for more information, but was greeted by nothing but a mask of suspicion. He must have been too on the nose with his questions, because Grian had put up a solid wall. "Alright, thank you Grian. I'm going to visit Cub next, is there anything you want me to tell him?"

Grian pondered for a moment. "Nah, just tell him if he needs help I'm always around. Bye X."

They said goodbye tersely and Xisuma flew off. That went about as poorly as he could have imagined. His plan really was to learn more about Doc, but his curiosity about Grian's past got in the way. He wasn't even certain Grian remembered his past at all, really. It was just a hunch he had, based on multiple conversations and some suspicious markings he found when going through code as part of his admin chores. Grian knew more than he let on, and X was worried he wasn't nearly as innocent as he appeared to be. People remembering past lives was rare, and typically upsetting; being dragged from your home into a foreign world was disturbing, to say the least. That was the other possibility, was that Grian had a fine life back home, but the trauma of world-hopping had scarred him. Xisuma hoped none of those were the case, but if his hunch was correct he wanted to support Grian however he could.

Now, on the matter of Doc; Xisuma had no clue. As an admin he should have access to everyone's locations at all times, but Scar and Doc had fallen off the grid mysteriously. It had to be some strange glitch in the system. This wasn't the most difficult situation X had ever dealt with as an admin, but it certainly wasn't good. The most upsetting part was the fact that it all happened so quickly and from out of nowhere, forcing Xisuma to interrogate other hermits for clues at two in the morning unexpectedly.

Gliding to a stop in the ConCorp common area, Xisuma quickly spotted Cub and made his way over. Cub rubbed his eye and rolled his shoulders back, evidently having just woken up. _Lucky_.

"Hey Cub, thanks for meeting me so late, I really appreciate it.”

"No problem Xisuma, how can I help ya?"

"What do you know about Scar?" Xisuma felt bad watching Cub flinch at the name.

"Ah, I should've figured. I don't know much, unfortunately. Scar was acting strange for a while- tired, stressed, distracted- but as you know, a weeks ago he disappeared entirely. I've only talked to him a couple times since then, but he doesn't look well." If he looked sleepy earlier, Cub looked drained now. It was clear that the disappearance of his friend was taking a toll on him.

"Thank you Cub, that's good to know. I don’t suppose you know what he's doing or where he is?"

Cub shook his head. "He's been tight-lipped about the whole operation, but it seems important to him. He mentioned multiple times that there were lives on the line, but he tends to be overdramatic about these things."

Xisuma perked up at that. "He said that? Lives are on the line?"

Cub wilted. "Yeah, I figured it was an expression of his, but based on your reaction I wonder if it's true."

"That's what I'm worried about..." Xisuma trailed off, lost in thought. Who's lives were on the line? Scar's? Doc's?

"Hey Xisuma?" Cub's voice was soft, broken. "What do you know?"

Xisuma's heart shattered. He hoped he could go one season without a world-rending incident, but clearly trouble followed him through the worlds- and it followed Doc evidently, considering the nHo fiasco last season. "If I can be honest Cub, I'm not sure. My tracking systems can't find either of them, which has never happened before." If it was any other hermit, X would have bent the truth to avoid unnecessary worry from his poor hermits, but he knew Cub would prefer the facts face-on. That was always how Cub had operated, and it’s what made him such a good business owner.

A glitch flickered the air around them, startling the pair. “Oh, I forgot to ask you the other day, what’s going on with all the world glitches? Is it normal stuff, or is it tied in somehow?”

Xisuma offered a weak shrug. “It’s hard to tell, but I’m planning on doing some code-hunting to try and find Doc and Scar, so I’ll keep an eye out for that.”

X wasn’t sure if it was a glitch or not, but Cub's head snapped up, his intense blue eyes piercing X to the core. "You won't hurt them right? I wouldn't look for them if I was you, it's far beyond what you can comprehend. Promise me you won't go find them."

Shivers crawled up X's spine. Cub stared him down unwaveringly, exhaustion suddenly gone. Something wasn't right about this. "Alright Cub, I promise to stay safe."

Almost instantly the world lagged again and he relaxed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Thank you for everything Xisuma, it means the world to me. Text me when you find something?"

Xisuma nodded blankly, waving as Cub returned to his house. There was definitely going on behind the scenes here, and X needed to figure it out quick. The way Cub looked at him just then was blank, with no understanding, almost like Cub wasn't the one speaking in that moment. And what was causing that strange lag? Was it even related to all this? It was eerie to say the least, and Xisuma was glad he dodged around the strange promise. He couldn't promise he'd never go find where Doc was hiding, but he would definitely be safe while doing it. Now, he just had to figure out what exactly he was looking for.


	9. Numb Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today things are surprising, but not in the happy birthday surprise kind of way. In the friend-getting-mauled-in-the-woods kind of way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Possible warning for description of blood and vomit

Grian was impatient and everyone knew it, including himself. He couldn't sit still and loved talking, which could be good or very, very bad. His endless energy meant he finished projects in a tornado frenzy, constantly coming up with new ideas and pushing everyone else's creativity along with him. However, that boundless energy also meant he got distracted easily, starting endless projects but not always getting around to finishing them. If a hermit went to visit Grian for any reason, they likely wouldn't be seen for hours as Grian chattered their ear off. Sometimes it could be a little exhausting, but no one would turn down the opportunity to hang out with Grian.

One time, Scar was wobbling through the shopping district, arms full of heavy shulker boxes full of building supplies, when he bumped into Grian. Scar, being the sweet guy he is, stopped to talk to Grian, getting caught up in a deep debate about rustic versus modern builds. Scar held his boxes as they talked, arms quivering, hoping the conversation would end any time soon so he could relieve his poor weak arms. It didn't, and Scar's arms were so sore he couldn't hold a stack of concrete for a week after that. Whenever anyone asked about it, Scar would recount the tale, poking fun at Grian's 'dolefully amusing energy'.

And so, it was no surprise when people saw Grian darting back and forth across the skies of Hermitville all morning, arms full of shulker boxes. Every few minutes he floated down to Ren's doorstep, kicking the door with his foot. "Ren! You home?"

Dancing anxiously on the porch, Grian knocked harder. "Ren, I've got a great idea, wake up!"

No answer. Grian groaned, dumping his shulkers all over the grass. It was only 9:30 in the morning, but Grian was already bored out of his mind. Mumbo was away at the witch farm again, and Iskall was busy with villagers or something. Ren hadn't responded to any of his texts, so he had gathered up his building supplies and ran over to Ren's house. With all of his plans falling apart so early in the day, Grian threw himself onto the grass with a sigh.

"Hey Grian, still no luck?" Stress waved as she trotted across the street.

"Nah, clearly Ren's not really a morning person. What are you up to?"

"Ah, just workin on my house! It's not quite as impressive as yours, but she's comin along!" Stress laughed happily, glancing sidelong at the row of houses towering over the town. Grian, Mumbo and Iskall had all moved onto the same street in Hermitville, and like most things, they got a little competitive about it. Grian and Mumbo's houses were the same height, nearly double everything else in the village, with Iskall right on their tail. And, in the middle of it all, Stress had gotten stuck with the house right in between the boys. She never complained about it, but Grian wondered if it bothered her to be overpowered by the giant buildings all around.

"Nice! I can't wait to see how it looks! Hey, do you have any plans later today? After my thing with Ren I'd love to go visit your castle!"

"Oh my gracious yes!" She squealed. "We've been meanin to do that for so long!"

"Yeah! I've heard it looks fantastic, and I really want a personal tour."

"Of course. How long will your thing with Ren take? If you want we could have a picnic while we're out too!"

Grian pondered for a moment. "Well, it shouldn't take more than an hour or two, really. I wanted to make a little-"

Their attention was drawn away as a loud rustling sounded from the forest outside of town. A wall was in the process of being built around the village, so they peered through a hole in the wall as the rustling grew closer, accompanied by heavy footfalls. Stress edged behind Grian silently, hoping it wasn't a ravager beast coming to destroy the town. They had encountered far too many of those in the past few weeks, which is why they were constructing the wall in the first place. Countless hermits died to pillager raids every day, so the threat was real.

Bursting from the underbrush with a gasp, it was Ren, not a ravager, that collapsed just beyond the wall. For an instant, time was suspended, and Grian could do nothing but watch in horror as Ren fell face first into the lush patch of grass between the forest and the city wall. Before he could think any further, Grian jolted into action, bounding over the short wall and sliding on his knees to a stop beside Ren's prone form. A quick glance told Grian he was still breathing, but beyond that it was hard to tell. Stress ran to his side as well, crouching down gently as she set down a shulker box nearby.

Ren laid face down in the dirt, his clothing tattered and stained. Stained with what was not the question; blood coated Ren from head to toe. Blood dripped from his hair, trailing and smearing all over his face, which was pulled into a pained expression. Through the tears in his clothing, it was clear he was scratched and gouged all over his body, causing the blood to stain his clothing and ooze into the grass he laid on. Some of the scrapes were shallow, evidently from running into tree branches and bushes, but some clearly weren't. A few looked like claw marks, while still others looked like swings from a sword. It was a hideous sight, and Grian's head spun from the smell of the fresh, tangy blood. In a trance, he reached out and touched Ren's arm, shuddering at the warmth of the substance. It was sticky and dark, and the way it caught the light made him want to vomit.

Everyone on the server knew that Stress was the best doctor out of all of them, which Grian could testify to after all the crash landings he took at the beginning of the season. He stepped back, watching as her delicate fingers danced over his body, checking for mortal wounds. Grian didn't know much, but following Stress' hands as she worked downwards, he instantly knew that an ankle wasn't meant to twist in that way. A small hiss from Stress indicated the same discovery, and she wordlessly motioned to Grian to help her. Carefully, the pair rolled Ren onto his back, and Stress set to work quickly splinting the broken ankle with the items supplied from her shulker box. His chest revealed more wounds, and Grian couldn't stop himself from running to the bushes to throw up his breakfast. It was too much. After that it was all a blur.

With trembling hands, Grian called Xisuma, who appeared within minutes. The three managed to move Ren into the nearest house, and since then the server had been abuzz. Texts flew by in the group chat, questions falling unanswered as Grian found himself blankly staring at the screen, unable to type anything. Stress tended to Ren's other wounds, though Grian couldn't stand to look at him anymore. Xisuma seemed to take it the worst, now pacing the small house, mumbling to himself angrily with countless admin screens pulled up around him.

Grian felt numb. He didn't think he'd be in a situation like this again, but here he was. Why him? Of everyone on the server, why was he the one that had to be there when it happened? He wasn't good at handling serious situations; he knew this. That was the only way he had gotten over losing his closest friends. By acting like it had never happened. Why was he the one that had to deal with these things?

"Why..." Grian whispered it quite without thinking.

"Did you say something Grian?" Xisuma's voice snapped Grian out of his trance.

"I just... Why Ren? Who did this?"

X shook his head. "A ravager or wolf from the forest would be my best guess, although any traces of that being the case are nowhere to be found."

"It couldn't be a player, right? In the forest?"

Without hesitation, X shook his head. "It couldn't be. Nothing adds up that way."

A small light flickered on in Grian's mind, and he cringed at the sudden thought. There was no way it was true, and yet... "We still don't know where Doc is, right?"

"No, I-" Xisuma hesitated, realizing Grian's implication. "Grian, Doc did not do this. Why would he?" X's tone was stern, but his eyes flickered back and forth nervously. His mind was clearly swirling with the upsetting thought, and the conversation trailed off between them.

Grian hated himself for having the thought at all, but now it was all he could think of, like a single drop of ink staining his thought water. No one knew where Doc was- there was technically a chance he could be out in that forest. There was no reason he would be in there, but there was still a chance. Plus, Doc was a hermit- a real, normal person, just like Grian. He wouldn't do this, not to his best friend.

"It's not your fault Grian. We did all we could, and he's going to be fine." Stress' gentle whisper snapped Grian out of his thoughts before he could spiral too far.

"I know, I just can't help but worry. Some of those gashes around his chest looked pretty deep." Grian couldn't muster the energy to do anything more than wave his hand vaguely.

"Luckily everything around the vitals are just lil lacerations, so he's alright there. I'm worried his foot'll give him trouble for a while though." Stress chewed her lip, glancing back to Ren. "Hopefully he'll wake up a day er so."

"I've invited Cub over. Don't let anyone else in, I need to focus." Xisuma spoke up abruptly, pulling a chair to the far corner. Floating screens obscured him from sight, and it was clear that Xisuma wasn't having any better a time than the others. The conversation had ended suddenly, but that was okay by Grian. Stress quietly returned to Ren's side, and Grian pulled his knees up to his chin in his chair.

Why Ren was in the forest in the first place was also a big question plaguing him, but that one didn't have any satisfying answers either. Grian could understand if maybe Ren was out gathering resources and getting fresh air, but he had a tree farm back at the main hermit lands. If he needed wood so bad, he could have just flown to his shop. The only other logical conclusion Grian could come to is that Ren was looking for Doc and got caught off guard by a ravager or pillager raid. His eyes wandered to Ren's eerily still body, lingering on the bandages already soaking through with dark blood. He choked back the stabbing, gagging feeling in the back of his throat. Then again, maybe Ren had found Doc after all, and it didn't end as well as he had hoped.

Grian hated himself in moments like these. He had mastered keeping on a happy face most of the time, but when terrible scenarios emerged he couldn't restrain his overactive imagination. Grian especially hated himself for drawing these morbid conclusions simply because Doc was a creeper hybrid. It was close-minded and mean, but Grian couldn't help his pessimistic mindset. He hated himself even more because he knew he wouldn't be having these thoughts if it was a human hermit.

He wondered if Doc could still explode.

Grian shrank at the thought, blocking out any more thoughts. He hated feeling numb. He hated being serious. He hated being responsible for for other people.


	10. A Broken Mirror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian is seeing some eerie similarities between his past and his present. That’s not good.

"Well, he's pretty stable now thankfully." Stress rose from Ren's bedside, her eyes lingering on his form for a second more.

"Stable? He wasn't stable before?" Cub whispered uncertainly. He had been called in an hour ago by Xisuma, much to the confusion of the other hermits. The group chat was exploding, begging Cub to tell them what was happening, but he hadn't responded. He hadn't spoken a word since arriving at the house-turned-hospital, simply staring intently at Ren's eerily still body.

Stress shook her head slowly, tearing her eyes away from Ren. "No, when we found him he was in aweful condition. If a medic hadn't been on site, he probably woulda died. He's fine now though, we just have to keep changin bandages and keep his foot elevated."

Grian nodded, comforted by the statement. He and Ren hadn't always been the closest, especially after the civil war, but they had been spending more and more time together and Grian had gotten attached quickly. When everyone moved to Hermitville the pair discovered they had very similar building styles, and began collaborating whenever they could. They were also both very extroverted, which made it easy to have spontaneous hangouts whenever they wanted.

"So, do we know the cause?" Cub quizzed.

This time Xisuma spoke up from the corner, where his face had been hidden by screens for the last few hours. "We're not sure, but it appears that there are injuries both from a creature with claws and a dull sword. The broken ankle and assorted scratches are from running through the forest. I'm currently trying to search the code for some answers, but I've never looked for something like this before." The screens dispersed, revealing X's tired face. He had taken his helmet off, and it was clear the exhaustion went deeper than just today's incident.

Cub nodded slowly, taking in the information. Grian's insides twisted as he remembered how Ren looked, collapsed and ripped apart outside the forest. He admired Cub's bravery in the face of such terror, because Grian had always been squeamish about blood. Cub was one of the most level-headed hermits, and it showed in everything he did. He was the head of ConCorp, the biggest corporation on the server (still bigger than Sahara, as much as he hated to admit it). He was always calm, even in the face of danger, and was never afraid of the truth. Grain couldn't boast the same things about himself, so he was especially impressed to know that Cub wasn't squeamish about blood either.

"So why am I here and not the other hermits?"

Xisuma stared into Cub's eyes for a moment, seeming to decide what to say, then nodded subtly. "Grian brought up the point that we still don't know where Doc and Scar are, and being Scar's best friend I figured you should be included here."

Cub took a shallow breath. "What are you implying?"

"We think it might be a hermit that caused the damage from a sword."

"And you think it was Doc because of the claw marks as well." Cub nodded, swallowing thickly. "I can see the reasoning."

"It's not a happy thought, but it wouldn't be the first time Doc showed his savage side. I just figured since Scar appears to be involved somehow, you ought to know what's happening."

"Thanks for trusting me to know."

The room fell deathly silent again, each hermit lost in their own thoughts. Grian considered Ren's prone figure again, asking himself if he really thought Doc did it. On one hand, there were sword marks and claw marks, so Doc was the obvious answer. Python could also be in question, but the most threatening thing he’d ever done was hiss if someone got too close to his sunbathing rock. No, Doc checked off all the boxes, but Grian couldn't admit it. Doc could be antagonistic, sarcastic, and short-tempered, but there was no way he would hurt another hermit, especially Ren. Ren and Doc had been inseparable since the beginning of the season, which apparently surprised many hermits.

Obviously Grian wasn't around last season, but according to others, Renskall had been the power couple of the server. They shared an island, they worked in perfect tandem, and they were beyond best friends. So, when season six rolled around and Ren and Iskall weren't together, it was a shock for everyone. Stress and Iskall were building a lab together, and Ren and Doc were founding a stock exchange. When Grian mentioned to others how well they got on, they would agree with surprise. Grian had quickly learned that dynamics and pairings could change in an instant, which kept him extra cautious to keep Mumbo extra close. All the hermits were friends, but Grian didn't want Mumbo to leave his side for any reason.

Stress' voice snapped Grian out of his thoughts. "Well it's obviously not Doc, so are we sure those are sword marks? Could they all be claw marks?"

"It's technically possible, but just a simple look at the looks of the cuts makes it obvious they're different. I'm not saying it's Doc or Scar, but it's something we have to keep in mind for statistics sake," Xisuma sighed.

"Yeah, don't rule it out yet. As much as I hate to admit it, Doc does fit the criteria," Grian voiced his thoughts from earlier. Cub and Xisuma nodded with grimaces, but Stress shook her head resolutely.

"Nope, it's not Doc. I promise, Doc would never do anything like this."

"But I've heard about what happened last season with his club. This is pretty similar, isn't it?" Grian pointed out.

The room fell silent, and Stress tensed. Grian shrank under her intense glare; Stress was not someone you wanted on your bad side. "You weren't even there, what would you know about it? Besides, the nHo was a completely different situation out of his control."

"Really? I thought someone told me the jungle made them all go feral, and that's why none of them are here any more." Grian shot back.

Now Stress was livid. "Exactly, it wasn't their fault! The jungle possessed their minds. Doc wouldn't do it on purpose, and it'll never happen again."

"But it _did_ happen again, that's the problem. All the evidence-"

"Shut _up_!" Stress screeched. "Shut up shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!"

Cub leapt toward Stress, hugging her tightly to restrain her. She held her ground, but the daggers she was staring into Grian were as effective as real knives.

Grian stood slowly, but didn't step closer. "I'm just trying to protect my friend, okay? If Doc did this," Grian waved at Ren. "Then we need to be ready to find him and help him!"

"No! Doc didn't do it! Don't talk that way about my friend!"

"Stress, you're coming with me. Grian, stay here." Cub forcefully took Stress by the shoulders and practically flung her out the door, the loud slamming of the spruce door swiftly ending the conversation.

Grian growled, pacing the floor with his pent-up frustration. He didn't want Doc to be the culprit, obviously. But, there was more evidence pointing to it than not. For the past couple weeks, Grian had been concerned for Doc and Scar, seeing how they disappeared off the world, but he was just as worried about Ren. He could see the way the disappearance was affecting Ren and it hurt Grian. He knew how that felt, and he didn't wish that pain upon anyone.

The pain of friends disappearing without warning. The pain of worrying that they're gone for good. The pain of wondering if you were the one that forced them away. The pain of loneliness.

Maybe that was why Grian got so worked up over all of this. He knew what Ren was going through, and he knew the mental damage it had done in himself. He knew that Ren’s circumstances were different from his own though. Maybe his story had a tragic, backstabbing ending, but Ren's didn't have to. Grian wanted to do everything in his power to find Doc, to set everything back to how it was supposed to be.

But, there was also a deep, burning rage deep inside of him, directed towards Doc. How could Doc ever do something like this to Ren, not to mention the rest of the hermits! He had no awareness for those around him, and Grian couldn't stand it. According to what he knew about last season as well, this wasn't the first time Doc had done something like this either. To his credit, it wasn't his fault the jungle corrupted his mind, but it left a suspicious mark on his record in Grian's eyes.

"Well now that was uncalled for." Xisuma lifted an eyebrow from his seat in the corner, having watched the events play out. Grian sagged with a sigh, dropping into his chair again.

"Sorry I got so upset about that, it just struck a nerve I guess." Grian mumbled, embarrassed. He had just yelled at Stress, the sweetest girl in the world.

"History repeats itself, hm?" Xisuma's cool tone sent chills down Grian's spine. There was no way X could know everything, not after Grian had been so careful. Not even Mumbo knew the whole story, but suddenly the thought that Xisuma was an admin made Grian wilt. If anyone knew his past, it would be Xisuma.

"Now, are you going to apologize to her or what?"

"Right," Grian whispered. He felt like crap. Slowly pushing the door open, he found Stress and Cub sitting on the front steps. Cub smiled warmly and Stress managed a bashful wave. "Hey, sorry about all that. I guess seeing Ren like that got me on edge...”

"No, I'm sorry Grian. I shouldn't have raised my voice at you." Stress jumped to her feet and threw a huge hug around Grian's neck. He was so grateful for such fantastic friends.

"No really, I shouldn't accuse friends of maiming other friends, that's uncalled for." Grian stared down, suddenly very interested in his red shoes.

"It's okay Grian, I understand." Stress patted him on the shoulder. She didn't understand, but that was okay. No one would ever understand how Grian felt, but that was how he liked it. If no one ever knew what he had been through they would never treat him any differently than anyone else. If they treated him different, he would be the new guy, the fragile guy, the guy who can't do this and can't do that because it makes him anxious. No, nobody could understand, but Grian had convinced himself that was a good thing.

"Well, I suppose all we can do for now is tend to Ren and wait for more information," Cub piped up.

"Yep, our mystery has come to a standstill," Stress giggled, stifling a yawn.

"Here, you two go home and sleep, Xisuma and I will keep an eye on Ren tonight." Cub nudged the two off the porch, and everyone expressed their thankful farewells before going their separate ways, with Stress agreeing to take over watching Ren in the morning.

When Grian made it home, he collapsed in his bed instantly, gripping his pillow with a trembling fear that he had restrained until now. He knew it was all going to be fine in the end. This was Hermitcraft, not-

He couldn't bear to think the name. He stuffed his face in his pillow, letting out one large sob. This was different, it had to be. Grian could make it different, he just had to find the truth.


	11. Game Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cub and Zedaph go play games, but Cub hasn’t slept in two days!

Cub stepped out of the house with a sigh, shutting the door quietly behind him. Stress had taken over watching Ren in the early hours of the morning, and Cub was exhausted. Xisuma had returned to his own base so he could work in a bigger space, so Cub had been left to stew in his own thoughts for hours until Stress relieved him of his duties. And honestly, he still wasn't sure what to think.

Obviously he didn't want it to be Doc's fault, no one did. However, he was a scientifically-minded individual, and he didn't deny that Doc fit a lot of criteria for being the culprit. After stewing over it for a couple hours, Cub had decided that a conclusion couldn't be drawn until Xisuma found more information. What had really been nagging his brain all night was Scar's position in all this. Doc and Scar were definitely together, wherever they had disappeared to, which was curious. If Doc was the one to injure Ren, what part did Scar play in it? That was what truly upset Cub the most. Scar had never shown aggression in any form beyond mild annoyance, and Cub couldn't imagine him taking part in something like this. Then again, maybe this was the moment that Scar finally snapped.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, Cub picked up his phone. He had been receiving notifications for hours now, but he couldn't find the willpower to look until now. A single glance told him that he had received over 100 texts from the group chat, and that didn't take into account the private dms and missed calls as well. Skimming through the group chat, he noted that it started frantic and concerned, but once Xisuma placated everyone about Ren's condition, it was pretty tame.

One name that stood out was Zedaph. Zed had called 4 times, and had texted even more. If it was anyone else Cub might have ignored it, but he knew Zedaph had a big heart.

**Zedaph**: CUB I HEARD YOU GOT TO SEE REN IS HE OKAY??

**Zedaph**: okay, X says he's fine so that's good

**Zedaph**: are you doing alright tho? I know you've got a lot on your mind lately 🥺

**Zedaph**: Cub, I'm more worried about you than Ren, coz Stress bandaged him up

**Zedaph**: How can I help bandage you Cub?

Cub smiled. Stress was good at fixing physical injuries, but Zedaph was really good at healing mental ones.  
  


**Cub**: Shall we go play Duck? I've been promised a round with the inventor of the ingenious game.

**Zedaph**: hey that's me! Meet u there!

When Cub arrived Zedaph was already there, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Zed waved wildly, a grin splitting his features, so Cub managed a weak smile in return.

"Cub! It's good to see you! How are you feeling?"

The simple question caused a dark cloud to form in Cub's thoughts, so he shook his head. "None of that talk, I'm here to win a game."

Zedaph's eyes flashed with concern, but he just as quickly grinned, covering up any concerns he had. "Ooh, that sounds like a challenge if I've ever heard one! And I've heard a lot of challenges in my day, let me tell you," He winked.

"..I don't even want to know."

A quick summary of the course was all Cub needed, and the pair lined up at the entrance. "Alright Cub, wait ten seconds and then follow me in. Fastest time wins." Zed instantly shot forward, sliding into the maze and disappearing quickly. Cub patiently waited before crawling in after him.

As the name of the game suggested, Cub was doing a lot of ducking. There were pistons shifting some of the obstacles and changing the course, impressing Cub. He paused, taking a moment to spot some redstone hidden behind the clinging shrubbery with a proud smile. That is, until one slammed a block into the side of his head, and he decided to focus on the task at hand.

He crept out onto a one-block ledge on his hands and knees cautiously. He noted how high the ledge was above the ground, and gripped the block a little tighter. Cub didn't consider himself a fearful man, but something about ledges worried him. It wasn't even heights that irked him, because he flew all the time, but edges without rails made his stomach flutter. Safely creeping to the other side safely, Cub rushed to catch up on lost time. He flew through the rest of the maze, stumbling as he splashed into the muddy pig pen.

The pigs cooperated fairly well, moving away with an indifferent snort, allowing Cub to army crawl through the space with relative ease. He stood slowly, the exhaustion creeping into his bones again. It had been nearly two days since he slept- Xisuma spoke with him that night he fell asleep with Zedaph in the library, and he hadn't gone back to sleep since. He pulled a lot of long hours, but even he could admit that was too long without sleep.

He also couldn't decide if it was a good or bad design choice to put the water maze after the pig pen. On one hand, his lab coat was now soaked, and his sweater clung to him uncomfortably. On the other hand, it also washed off all the mud from the pigs by the time he crawled out the other side. He stumbled past the finish line, an also-dripping Zedaph catching him with a laugh.

"You finally made it!"

Cub wrung his beard quickly, flashing Zedaph a smile. "It was really fun! What were our times?"

"Well I got 55 seconds, and you got one minute 46 seconds. That's a great first run!"

"Maybe, but you still thrashed me," Cub laughed.

"It was your first run, and I made the game! Wanna try for a better time? Or maybe we should play another game?"

Cub only wanted to sleep, but he knew that was a bad idea right now. If he tried to sleep his thoughts would run rampant with ungrounded worries and terrifying theories. So instead, he shook his head. "Let's try a new game, shall we?"

"Yes! We should play Dig Straight Down, Grian made that one right?"

The pair began meandering over to the game. "Yeah; I heard Joe is basically a master now thanks to all his training."

"Of course he did," Zedaph laughed. "I'm just hopeful to break even! Admission is five diamonds, right?"

"Yeah, but I'll pay for you, don't worry."

"Cub, you're too sweet!" Zed gasped, wrapping Cub in a tight hug. "Oh hey Grian! Fancy meeting you here!"

Even from across the lot, Cub could tell Grian was a sorry sight. He was curled up against the wood wall in the far corner, his eyes dark with exhaustion. Seeing the pair meander in caused his head to rise in surprise, and everyone stared at each other for a moment.

"Uh, hello Grian," Cub managed to say. A silent 'Good to see you again so soon.' Was tagged on as well, which Grian seemed to catch based on his curious blinking.

"Now a minigame seems like a poor place for a nap, isn't it?" Zedaph chuckled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Yeah... uh, I'll get out of your way." Grian threw his wings on and sparked a rocket in a fraction of a second, disappearing before Cub could react.

Grian didn't look good, so Cub could only imagine how he looked in a mirror. At least Grian had gone home to sleep last night; Cub practically felt the phantoms swirling around his head by now. He couldn't dwell on that though, not now. The server was looking to him as a source of information for this strange, scary situation, and he had to be brave. Technically Stress, Grian and Xisuma were also there, but Cub couldn't shirk his duties. He had to be brave.

"I hope Grian's doing alright... I heard he was the first one to find Ren," Zedaph murmured.

Cub nodded slowly. "Yeah, but Ren's going to be okay. We should relax and play some games."

Zedaph took a step closer, and Cub leaned away nervously. "Cub, if you're still worried about Ren, we don't need to pretend to be happy. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No, it's okay. I kept an eye on Ren last night, it's all going to be okay."

Zedaph made a sound of protest at that statement. "Wait, you were up all night? You need sleep, come on now!"

Zedaph grabbed Cub's arm gently, but he stumbled away. Even the mention of sleep sent a huge yawn racking Cub's body, and he pulled his shoulders up defensively. Everyone knew Cub could pull insane hours for projects, and now Zed is babying him over lost sleep? He wouldn't allow it. He wasn't weak, and everyone needed to know it. He could manage a corporation by himself, he could see his friend at death's door, and he could still stand as a solid rock for those around him.

He wouldn't expect any less from himself.

"Talking always helps me sort my emotions out. Cub, how is Scar? When was the last time you talked? Is he-"

"Stop." Cub snapped. Logically, he knew Zedaph was trying to help him work through his negative emotions, but he couldn't help the tears streaking down his cheeks. He took a step back, and Zedaph hesitated before stepping toward him again. He said something in a gentle tone, but Cub was too busy thinking about Scar again to pay attention. Scar couldn't be a cause of Ren's condition, even if it looked like it. Scar would never. He was a bad business man, but he wasn't an idiot.

"Cub, are you listening?" His name caught his attention. "My goodness you're in poor shape. Cub, it's okay to rest. You've had an insane month worrying about Doc and Scar, and now Ren too. Please, go sleep. If not for you, then for me." Zedaph's voice was broken, and the soft tone he used made Cub want to cry in exhaustion. He felt Zedaph wrap his arms around around him, and Cub melted into the warm touch. He didn't remember much after that, except Zedaph helping him into his warm, soft bed, where he fell asleep instantly.

Love you, my little stars!

-RaeTheStar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the impromptu hiatus this last month! Hopefully I can get back to a regular pace, but I never set schedules for myself so y'all just get to suffer with me.


	12. Meeting Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Architechs have a problem, and it’s not Sahara this time.

"Ugh, just start the meeting, Mumbo is always late." Iskall rolled his eyes, drumming his fingers on the table in the meeting room. The air in the room was crisp with the sun still hiding behind the early morning fog. The server wasn't quiet very often, but foggy mornings like these sent a hush over everything.

"Hm?" Grian's head snapped up from the table, his hair matted to the side of his head and dancing wildly on top. Iskall cackled, watching as Grian struggled to straighten his wrinkly sweater. "Bug off."

"Bro, why are you so sleepy? You're never like this!" Iskall gasped through his laughter.

Almost instantly, Grian's expression soured. "Stayed up late restocking Dig Straight Down. Let's start the meeting already."

A frown creeped across Iskall's face. "Sure... Our first point of business is Sahara sales. They've dropped by 43% in the last two weeks. My proposal is that we have a sale on all wood products. It won't be much, but the idea of a sale will get people thinking about Sahara again."

Grian nodded lazily. "Sounds good, you're in charge of that."

"Okay, second point of business is what the heck is wrong with Grian. Our local expert Grian has something to say on the matter." He held an imaginary mic up to Grian's mouth with a raised eyebrow.

Grian didn't seem to find the bit very funny, simply staring at Iskall blankly. Sighing deeply, he glanced away. "I shouldn't say much, but you know it's about Ren," he muttered.

"Well I wasn't gonna ask, but what's the tea? I heard that you were the one who found him!" Iskall perked up in his seat.

Grian cringed, painful memories from mere nights ago flashing behind his eyes. "It's too early in the morning for this. Yeah, me and Stress were there."

"Okay, so what's the scoop? The whole server is in the dark man, we wanna know!" Iskall inched to the edge of his seat, eye wide. Grian knew he meant no harm, but his excitement about the morbid tale made Grian squirm under his gaze. Plus, the vendetta had become personal to Grian; he didn’t want Iskall butting into his detective case, even though deep down he knew that if it was one person’s problem, it was the whole server’s problem.

"Long story short, we found him all beat up. Xisuma's doing research to find out what happened. Cub, Stress and I are taking turns taking care of Ren until he wakes up. That's about it."

Iskall blinked. "That's it?"

Grian shrugged.

"But I heard rumors that Doc did it. Is it true?" Iskall asked in hushed tones.

"I'm not saying yes or no, but there's some evidence that says maybe," Grian admitted.

Iskall stewed over that for a second. "Obviously I don't know all the details, but with Doc going missing, and this happening right after... I'll admit it's suspicious."

Grian nodded. "Exactly. Everything lines up."

"Well, what is X doing about it?"

"I mean, nobody wants to admit Doc did it, so Xisuma is doing his best to search in the code for something." Grian shrugged. "I dunno."

"I mean, this reminds me of last season with the nHo, yknow?"

"That's what I said! Nobody listened to me cause I wasn't around last season."

"No, you're right. Last season the jungle definitely possessed all of them to do what they did, but Doc was the only one to actually hurt another hermit."

Iskall stood, pacing across the meeting room. Grian traced his movements with his eyes, a heavy atmosphere filling the space. Beams of cool dusk light streamed through the windowed wall, and the foggy shopping district below shone with a mysterious morning glow. After watching idly for a few minutes, Grian stood slowly as well. He slid back the glass door on the bird cage, a gentle chirping filling the room. His features were pulled into a solemn, thoughtful frown as he stroked one of the birds mindlessly.

Iskall mumbled silently to himself as he paced the floor, his combat boots on the concrete echoing loudly in the quiet room. He knew he should be worried about Ren, and obviously he was.

He and Ren had been friends since as long as Iskall could remember, and were quite literally brothers. Anyone that had been around during season four could vouch that the pair had been inseparable since they met on the first day, which had led to countless late nights talking, pranks, La Revolution, and Renskall island in season five. This season however, they had decided to take a step back. Living on the same island last season had been a little too much quality time, so for season six they agreed to only hang out on weekends.

Iskall could never forgive himself for what happened to Ren. If he had only been with Ren at the time, he could have prevented it. Iskall would do anything for Ren- there was a reason he was a hitman after all. Ren was his little brother, and Iskall would do anything to protect him.

Thinking about Ren made Iskall scowl even deeper, his mind turning to Doc. It was obvious that he did it, and Iskall didn't care why. Doc hurt his brother, and Iskall was going to make him pay.

—

"Hey," Mumbo whispered as he peered in the doorway of the meeting room. Grian was sitting in the bird room, petting his parrots, and Iskall paced the room with a deep frown. "Did I miss something important?"

"Take a guess," Iskall snapped, his pacing growing more aggressive.

"Did Sahara break that bad?" Mumbo chuckled, trying to lighten the crushing atmosphere. He sat delicately in Grian's chair at the head of the table, watching the pair closely.

"Ren," Grian mumbled.

Instantly Mumbo wilted. "Oh. Right. How is everyone doing?"

"Everyone's fine. Stress, Cub and I are taking turns watching over Ren until he wakes up, but it should be fine."

"So we won't know what happened to him until he wakes up, hm?" Mumbo frowned. "I hope he gets feeling better soon."

"Me too, I have a lot of questions for that dog," Iskall grumbled.

"And you want him to feel better, right?" Mumbo asked, mildly upset. "It's not all about your little mystery, a real person is injured here."

"I know, and that's why I want him to wake up! I wanna know who did it so I can hunt them down. That's my job as a hitman, right?"

"You're planning on assassinating Doc?" Grian piped up with concern.

"I guess!" Iskall stopped his pacing, throwing his hands in the air. "What happened to Ren isn't okay! He's my brother, I can't let this slide!"

Iskall's outburst made Mumbo stand, the chair squeaking loudly across the floor. "You're not murdering Doc! Grian, what is this about Doc hurting Ren?"

"We're not certain, but I don't think it looks good." Grian stood as well, the trio locked in a tense circle.

"But it's not him, because Doc would never do that." Mumbo spoke through gritted teeth. A tense silence fell over them, eyes darting back and forth in a showdown on who would speak up first.

Mumbo noticed the briefest glance between the other two, and he quickly realized it was two against one. He couldn’t believe that they really thought Doc would do that to Ren, and he couldn’t figure out how to show them they were overreacting. The last time the server had been this tense things hadn’t ended well, but these two weren’t around when it had happened. Iskall had only been around since season four, and Grian only this season. Despite being younger than both of them, Mumbo sometimes felt like the adult of the Architechs thanks to his extra years of experience. “What can I do to prove you’re wrong?”

Grian shrugged, and Iskall narrowed his eyes. “Only thing that will change my mind is Ren’s word, and until then...” Iskall shook his head.

Mumbo could only watch as Iskall jumped out the window, shooting into the sky. Turning back to Grian, Mumbo caught him deep in thought, a mixture of emotions flashing across his face before settling on exhaustion. “I’m sorry about Iskall, I...”

“It’s okay Grian. Just make sure not to do anything you might regret later, alright? We’re all friends, and I don’t want anything to change after all this blows over.” Mumbo put a gentle arm around Grian, but he didn’t react.

After a second, he sobbed, throwing his arms around Mumbo. They stood that way for a long time, Grian crying into Mumbo’s shoulder until the racking sobs trailed off into weak sniffles. Once Grian had calmed down enough that he could breathe evenly, they silently flew back to their bases together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was really hard for me to write for some reason, so hopefully the next one comes a little sooner!


	13. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xisuma knows more about Grian than he let on at first. Joe is also around.

Grian wandered down the cobbled road in Hermitville, walking past the nether portal tower for the fifth time. He was exhausted from not sleeping for the last three days, but every time he tried, the image of Ren's body outside the forest burned his eyes. Thankfully, he had the chance to watch over Ren again after the Architech meeting that afternoon. He liked watching Ren because he could force himself to stay awake, but now that Cub had taken over for the evening shift, Grian didn't know what to do with himself. Not to mention, Ren had become semi-conscious under Grian's watch, and it sent his mind into a frenzy all over again. For just a few minutes Ren’s eyes had fluttered open, and Grian had enough sense to shove some soup in his mouth before he fell asleep again. Hopefully he would be able to wake up completely soon and this madness would end.

So many thoughts were swirling around Grian's head, he wasn't even sure what any of them meant anymore. After the tense meeting that morning with the Architechs, Grian's opinions had been twisted around, and he wasn't sure what he thought anymore. Just the other day he had told Mumbo that he would do anything to avenge Ren, and he had been furious when Mumbo didn't agree with him. Something had changed when Iskall had sided with him, though. Iskall's aggression had almost startled him, and he quickly realized how crazy he looked to Mumbo.

Problem was, he still absolutely sided with Iskall. Not only had Doc hurt Ren physically, but mentally as well, which was a big no-no for Grian. Physical harm could be fixed with medicine; mental harm left scars. Grian knew better than anyone, and he couldn't stand idly by as one of his closest friends was torn down like an old wall, brick by brick. Ren didn't deserve that; no one did. Grian had to protect his family, and knowing that he had Iskall- an actual hitman- on his side was comforting.

But also, Grian cringed, knowing how crazy he sounded. Mumbo was right; this was a problem between Ren and Doc, and they were adults who could handle their own problems. Grian was just getting in the way of everything, and he needed to take a step back, see the whole picture. It wasn't his fault, and he wasn't responsible for anything happening right now.

He couldn't help but feel a little guilty though. He was there when they found Ren in the forest. He meddled where he shouldn't have. He's Ren's friend. Surely some of the blame falls to him, he reasoned.

And around and around he thought, as around and around he walked, the comforting scenery of Hermitville calming him until he circled back around to the house Ren was in, and he got agitated all over again. He couldn't understand why no one was reacting to any of this like him; everyone else seemed so calm about it.

"Oi, Grian!" Xisuma called as he circled above, quickly landing by Grian's side. "I got your text! Ren woke up, hm? How long was he aware?"

"Well, he wasn't exactly aware, but he managed to swallow some soup before before he fell asleep again."

"You gave him the beetroot stew right? Good, good..." Xisuma trailed off, leaving an awkward silence.

Grian was still a little sluggish being pulled from his deep thoughts so suddenly, and he couldn't come up with any conversation topics off the top of his head. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there had been a weird tension around Xisuma lately, even before Ren had been injured. Grian looked anywhere but Xisuma’s face, wondering if X could hear the way his heart was pounding.

"Hey, Grian? Do you mind if I ask you something a little personal?"

Grian's brain shot into high gear, wondering what he had done recently to catch Xisuma’s attention. Something about Ren's injuries, something about his talk with Scar the other day, maybe he found out about the Architech meeting and was going to chew him out for it. Grian nodded slowly. "Sure...”

"Where did you come from? Before Hermitcraft?"

The world stopped, his blood running cold. How did he know? There was no way he knew, he had been so careful. Grian didn't realize his mouth hung open until he snapped it shut, swallowing thickly. "How did..."

"As an admin, I get to know a little bit more about my players than meets the eye, but not enough. There are strange symbols attached to you Grian, and I think you know what they mean."

Symbols. Grian's mind flooded with memories, images, emotions, everything he tried so hard to cover up. Xisuma had known the whole time. All his weird questions, the sidelong glances, they hadn't just been in Grian's mind. It was just as bad as he thought; he could never escape his past. It was tied to him, a part of who he was and he hated it. Tears flooded his eyes and fell down his cheeks. He swiped at them, but they just smeared across his cheeks and continued to pour from his eyes.

Almost immediately Xisuma backpedaled. "I'm sorry, I understand if you don't want to talk about it!" Xisuma hovered uncertainly as Grian stood still as a statue, unresponsive. "I- understand how you feel. Uh, darn it, I'm not good at this emotional stuff. If you don't mind my offering, you should go visit Joe. He always has something to say, and I think he could help you more than I can right now." After another awkward beat, Xisuma took off silently, leaving Grian alone in the street.

For a couple minutes all he could do was wipe away the tears as they continued to pour down his cheeks, trying not to think about bad things. Dark things, things he thought he had kept locked away for so long. He thought he was free, but it had never been true. Xisuma had known the whole time. Faintly, Grian was thankful he hadn't said anything before now, but it didn't make it any easier now. Finally, his vision started to clear up, and Grian focused on making his way over to a nearby fire pit, collapsing onto a log.

Was he really going to talk to Joe about this? His instinct was gut-wrenchingly _no_. Xisuma had no right to tell him what to do, especially with his personal information. He didn't want to talk about his past to anyone; heck, he didn't even want to _think_ about it. But then, the more he lingers on it, the more relief he feels in the idea of sharing everything with someone.

The flight back to the main hermit lands was fraught with horrible thoughts, but Grian did his best to sort through them. He couldn't show up to Joe's house unannounced and then have nothing to say, like. "Hi. I'm broken, fix me." Why was he going to Joe's house in the first place? This was a stupid idea.

He would start vague; he didn't want to show up and dump this nonsense on Joe from out of nowhere. Maybe just mention he was having nightmares and go from there? But where do you even start on something like this? His entire life on that server was bizarre, but there was no way he could get into all of that right now. He figured he should mention the weird anomalies with the server, but why would Joe have any reason to believe him? No servers had ever been like his, and there was no reason it should have been like that. What if Joe wanted to write a book, so there were records of the anomaly? Could Grian really do that?

He took a deep breath, taking a second to notice how the wind whipped around him as he flew, and he relaxed slightly. He was committed now; whatever Joe's reaction was, whatever Joe wanted him to do, however Joe would treat him from here on out, Grian could do this.

Arriving on the other side of the nether portal, Grian's stomach tied itself into knots. He hadn't visited this end of the island since the civil war, but Joe enjoyed pulling weeds in the garden beds around the area. Grian stepped into the grassy clearing, the overgrown lawn swishing as a breeze blew by. The air here was oddly still, like the whole area had frozen in time, as a monument to the war. Grian wandered past a patch of grass that had been burned, a ring of black standing out starkly against the rest of the grass. He had to admit, the atmosphere was weird, but strangely peaceful.

"Well hello Grian! Are you here to join me in my botanical beautification today?" Joe's voice floated across the clearing, and Grian spotted him crouched by the riverbed outside the G-team base. Trotting over, Grian noticed a pile of weeds next to him, along with some dirty work gloves.

"Hi Joe, how's the gardening going?" Grian waved casually, trying to cover up the butterflies freaking out in his stomach.

"Oh splendid! I've been working along this riverbed; it's quite muddy, no?" Joe turned to the bank of the river and sure enough, this side was dark and muddy, compared to the opposite bank which was being overtaken by bullrushes and grass.

"It sure is." The conversation trailed off as Grian stared blankly into the water. He had planned out exactly what he would say, and now he could barely remember his own name.

"How can I help you today?" Joe stood suddenly, snapping Grian back to reality. He began walking away, so Grian scurried after him. Once they were walking, Joe turned to Grian again, and he could see a depth in those eyes he had never seen before. The blues and greens swirled beautifully together, and Grian could sense a wisdom much greater than someone Joe's age would normally have. "Grian, what seems to be bothering you?"

"Uh, right..." He has almost felt confident talking to himself in the nether tunnel, but now he wanted nothing more than to fall into the void and never respawn. "Well, I guess I've been having nightmares, and Xisuma sent me to talk to you, and I'm not really sure why."

Joe nodded slowly. "May I ask what the nightmares are about?"

This was the moment. Do or die. "I ah, I mean, it's kinda silly..." Grian kicked a pebble into the river, eyes glued to the tops of his shoes. The prickling heat crept up his neck as he felt Joe's piercing eyes on him. Surely Joe had already figured it out. This was miserable. Grian just wanted to curl up in a ball forever.

"Can I tell you about my nightmares first?" Grian snapped his head up at that. Did Joe really offer to open up just like that? They had hardly ever talked outside idle talk in the post office, let alone been close friends. How could Joe offer to reveal his weaknesses so easily?

"It's a little complicated, but I'll simplify for the sake of time. I dream that I'm living happily in a world. I have a wife, a child, friends and family, and we're all happy together. Everything is okay. Slowly, people get caught up in their own lives. It's nobody's fault in particular, life just gets busy. All the people I care about, I see them less and less. By the end of it all, I'm alone. Parents dead, daughter all grown up, friends and extended family too busy to visit anymore. It's lonely, being the only one. You never realize how important people are until it's too late..." Joe trails off, deep in thought.

"I know how you feel," Grian mumbles, not even sure if Joe could hear him until his head raises ever so slightly. Somehow encouraged by that response, he continues. "That's what my dream is about too. Me and my friends, we're all together. It's a beautiful world, and we all love each other very much. When it's time for us to travel to the next world, I'm the last one to go through the portal, and something goes wrong. I end up in a different world than the rest of my friends, powerless to find them. It's... lonely."

Grian looks up and locks eyes with Joe. His eyes are filled with such a profound sorrow, Grian almost wanted to cry just looking into them. It was such a strange feeling, looking at someone he barely knew, but know that they were feeling the exact same emotion right now. It was electrifying, and Grian wished it could last forever.

It couldn't of course, so Joe spoke up quietly. "I think we both know those are more than just nightmares. I'm glad you talked to me today; it feels good knowing you're not alone."

Grian nodded silently. Joe offered a quiet hand to Grian, and the two locked hands as they continued their walk. "Let's head to my house; I have some pumpkin pie cooling and I bet there’s just enough for the two of us."


	14. Whispers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian talks about his past, but it’s never easy.

Grian woke up the next morning more refreshed than he had felt in a long time. He and Joe had each eaten half the pie last night, and promptly fell asleep on the bunk beds that had been left abandoned in the G-team base so long ago. He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes as he spotted Joe across the room, sweeping the floor quietly. When he noticed Grian had woken up, he waved gently, then returned to his chores, letting Grian wake up.

The night before had been emotionally draining, to say the least, so he was thankful he woke up feeling refreshed this morning. While they were eating their pies last night, Joe asked about Grian's past in more detail, and Grian, feeling far more comfortable by that point, opened up completely. Joe had been so gentle and understanding, starting by asking how long ago everything had happened.

"Well, I was alone for nearly year after it happened I think; I stopped keeping track after a while. Time doesn't mean anything when you don't have obligations to other people." Grian shrugged. He tried to keep his tone light as he stuffed another bit of pie in his mouth, but Joe didn't seem to believe him.

"How did you end up alone?" Joe murmured.

Grian took a deep breath; ride or die. "My server was around since the beginning of time- well, I guess it wasn't always my server. We stayed in the same world through the years, but the admin powers changed hands every update, which I've now learned is not normal," Grian let out a strained chuckle. He had really lived in a bubble back then; trapped in the same broken world, full of broken people.

"How interesting. You mentioned that it was your world, so I presume you held the powers for a time?"

Grian sucked air through his teeth, shrugging. "See, that was the other thing. One update, a new player joined the world, which had never happened before. For some reason, I split the admin powers with him. It didn't really matter for a while; we just hung out a lot and worked on server issues together. Unfortunately, having two admin was straining for our server mates, and some small skirmishes and pranks started breaking out. Taurtis said we should move servers. I had lived my entire life in our broken little town, but Taurtis had seen the world. He convinced everyone that we could move somewhere new, and we were excited for an adventure. That day, the day we jumped, I..." Grian took a shuddering breath. He had avoided thinking about that day since joining Hermitcraft, and still, more than a year later, the memory was still painfully fresh.

Joe's gentle hand rested on Grian's shoulder, grounding him in reality. "Take your time."

"It's okay. Taurtis and I opened the portal that morning, and there were no problems. Taurtis led everyone through the portal, and I took up the rear. I went through the portal, but on the other side, there was... no one. It was just me, all alone, in an empty world. I couldn't open another portal; half my powers were with Taurtis in a different world, and there was no way we would ever find each other. They left me behind." Grian took a wavering breath, blinking tears from his eyes. He thought it would feel good to tell someone about this, but he was wrong. It hurt to think about everything all over again. Now, he braced himself, waiting for Joe to laugh, to rave about the miraculous situation, to ask about his powers, anything.

But nothing came. Joe just kept rubbing his shoulder gently as tears continued to stream down his cheeks silently. It was going to be the same thing all over again; Joe would tell everyone about how weird, how broken Grian was, just like the others did. He would be kicked out at the next world change. He couldn't do it again. Living alone in an infinite world wreaked havoc on his mind, and he couldn't go back, not after how nice everyone was in Hermitcraft. He had gotten attached too quickly, and now he was going to lose all the friends he had made. At least if he was alone there was no one around to break his heart anymore.

"I'm sorry you went through that."

Grian glanced at Joe out of the corner of his eye, and he had that painful look in his eye; the same look as when he was talking about his own past. Grian couldn't possibly understand why Joe was being so kind to him when they barely knew each other, but it clicked now. They both remembered their past lives, and they had been hurt in the same way. Joe understood exactly what Grian was feeling when no one else could.

Returning to the present, Grian could faintly smell eggs from the kitchen, and Joe was nowhere to be seen. Grian stood from the bed, blinking the sleepiness out of his vision as he stretched his limbs out. Poking his head into the kitchen he found that his nose was right, and Joe was frying eggs at the stove, humming a familiar tune. He spotted Grian and smiled widely, the the heavy air from last night long forgotten. "Hello my morning muse, how do you like your eggs?"

"Uh, over medium please, thanks." He sat slowly at the table, watching Joe crack another egg into the pan. Grian fiddled with his fingers idly, discovering that he could bend his ring finger without moving his pinkie when Joe joined him across the table with a steaming plate of eggs and two cups of milk. "It smells amazing, thanks Joe."

Joe smiled warmly. "No problem. I like to think eggs help mornings go _over easy_, don't you? Nevermind, it's too early for word workshopping," Joe laughed.

"I thought it was very clever," Grian snickered, taking a big bite of egg.

"Are you feeling a little better this morning?"

Grian thought about it for a moment, and he admitted something felt different this morning than it had last night. It almost felt like a big weight had been lifted from his chest. He had more energy than he’d had in weeks- although that could have been the lack of sleep. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I'm glad. Are you planning to talk to Xisumavoid sometime today?"

"Okay, well I'm not sure about _that_," Grian grimaced. It wasn't Xisuma's fault, but he was the one that brought up Grian's past in the first place, and he didn't appreciate that, despite feeling much better now. Not to mention, Xisuma had been so awkward the last few times Grian had been around him, and he could only imagine how things would be after he told X about everything.

"He's just concerned about your mental health, you know. He already suspected you remembered things, and for most of us that doesn't bode well by any means. He just wants to help."

"I know, but that's the problem," Grian mumbled, stuffing a bite of toast in his mouth.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I was abandoned once, and I don't want it to happen again, okay?" Grian admitted. "That server broke me, the players broke me, _Taurtis_ broke me. I can almost pretend I'm whole when I'm with you guys, but I can't be betrayed by my friends again." He rushed his words, shoveling food down his throat when he finished talking. He could already feel an embarrassed blush spreading across his cheeks. He was getting too comfortable opening up about his emotions lately.

But Joe didn't react like Grian thought he would; he just smiled sadly. "I'm so sorry you feel that way."

"Feel what way?"

"Angry at your friends."

"No I'm..." Grian paused, and he quickly realized that Joe had touched on exactly what it was. He thought he was sad; he had been abandoned for years, he was a broken man, he was the victim, right? But Joe was right. "It's okay that I feel like this?"

"It's completely normal, but I encourage you to forgive them when you're ready. It's not easy holding onto hurtful emotions like that."

"...Fine, but I want to be bitter a little longer."

Joe chuckled at that. "If you promise to talk to Xisuma today, it's a deal."

Once they finished breakfast and said their goodbyes, Grian made his way back through the nether hub. He texted X in a flash of bravery, and now they were meeting up in Ren's house since it was Xisuma's turn to watch him.

Shutting the door quietly behind him, Grian waved awkwardly to Xisuma, who dismissed the admin screens with a smile. "Hey, how are you?"

"Uh, fine. Can we talk?" Grian knew that both of them knew why he was there, so there was no need to dance around it. The sooner it was over the better.

"Of course, take a seat," Xisuma offered, an anxious smile growing on his face.

Grian sat across from X, rubbing his hands on his pants nervously. Ride or die. He knew he had already told Joe, which made it easier in his head, but it didn't make the words burn his tongue less as he spoke them. "I was abandoned for over a year before I joined Hermitcraft."

Xisuma listened carefully as Grian explained his past, his expression never shifting, which Grian appreciated. He rambled quickly, getting through the worst part without choking up too much, scarcely stopping to breathe in fear that he couldn't continue if he took a break. Xisuma nodded slowly when Grian finished talking, his expression unreadable, which made Grian's stomach churn. Grian tried to figure out what was going through his mind, but behind the mask it was impossible to tell.

"Uh, I'm bad at emotional stuff..."

Grian blinked. "That's it?" He had expected raised eyebrows, confusion, maybe even empathy based on Joe's reaction, but there was nothing. Xisuma just stared at him with a blank, slightly pitiful face.

"I don't want to make this about me, but I don't really feel... sad emotions? Like, I feel stress and stuff obviously, but I went through some things in my past too, and I can't feel some emotions anymore." Xisuma shrugged like he just said the most normal thing in the world.

"How on earth did that _happen_?"

Xisuma rubbed his neck with a small laugh. "It's a long story we don't need to get into, but I'm sure you could guess it has something to do with Evil X."

"Wait, did he hurt you or something? I've heard that certain parts of your brain can snap if you push them too far, did he mentally abuse you?" Grian asked in hushed tones, leaning forward in his seat with a frown.

Xisuma just laughed again. "Well we don't have time for the full story right now, but me and Exy are essentially the same person, split in two. It was all complicated, because our world had it's own interesting problems. We've learned things about each other over the years, and our split emotions is one of them! Obviously I have a lot of stress and happiness and stuff, but no sadness. Kinda weird, huh?"

"Wait really? How did that happen? Is that really possible?" Grian was on the edge of his seat, anxiety forgotten as he tried to wrap his brain around what Xisuma was saying. "Are you only half a person? Can you and Exy read each other's minds? How on earth did you manage that?"

"That is a much, much longer story, and I'm not really sure we have time for that, haha!" Xisuma pulled off his helmet, running a hand through his hair as he smiled widely. For a fraction of a moment, Grian noticed how quickly he had opened up to X, and how much X had revealed in return. Part of him shrank away, remembering all too well the pain of loss, the pain of betrayal, but for now he was happy. The air in the room was friendly and inviting, and Grian wanted to keep talking forever.

"You're not busy are you? I've got time to listen to the story if you're willing to tell it."

"Well, if you're sure, then it starts right at the very beginning of my world. I was all alone in my world, but I wasn't really sure what to expect, yknow? So I'm going around, learning about the world and the-"

"Shut up."

"What-?"

"Listen," Grian whispered.

The room fell deadly silent instantly, and Xisuma perked up in his seat to listen. Static filled Grian's ears as he strained to hear the sound again. He could almost convince himself that he made up the sound, but before he spoke up, there was the sound again.  
  


The sound of someone groaning.


	15. Fight Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian’s bottle shatters.

Have you ever gone through the stages of grief in reverse? Things changed, for better or for worse, and you're finally getting used to it when it changes back again. You're confused and upset, but wasn't this what you wanted the whole time? Why does it feel worse than before? Things were supposed to go back to normal, but it just kept getting more complicated, more frustrating.

Ren waking up had shaken Grian more than he liked to admit. He had been waiting all this time for Ren to come back, for things to go back to normal. This was what he had been waiting for, but things had only gotten more tense since Ren woke up.

"Blink once if it was Doc, twice if you're not sure."

Ren widened his eyes, obviously refusing to blink, and dodging Grian's question once again.

"Okay, But it's not _not_ Doc, right?"

"Grian, remember to let him breathe. He's been out for over a week, we have to be gentle." Stress reminded him. He flopped into his chair with a sigh, and almost instantly Xisuma was at Ren's bedside now.

"Ren, going through your character files I found that you have trace amounts of ravager DNA, is that genetic or did you encounter a ravager in the forest?"

"You too X! Everyone needs to calm down and let Ren rest!" Stress demanded, sending Xisuma back to his chair as well. "Would you like more soup Ren?"

He sat up straighter in his bed, shooting a grin to the other boys. "I'd love some soup, thank you Stress." His voice was rough from disuse, but it was clear he was just happy to be awake. His injuries were mostly healed by now, aside from the large gash in his stomach, and his broken ankle that was in a boot.

"Now he talks," Grian mumbled, folding his arms tightly and slumping into his chair. He couldn't help it; he was desperate to pull some information out of Ren. He could solve two mysteries in one go, and be named the best detective ever. He could see the headlines now: _Sherlock Grian solves double mystery of the century! The disappearance of Doc and the attack on Ren, wrapped up in one afternoon!_

"How about creepers, do you have creepers in your bloodline?" Xisuma poked his head over his many admin screens with hopeful eyes. "Just nod yes or no."

Ren eyed him for a moment, deciding what to say. He opted to shake his head slightly before returning to his soup, which was enough for Xisuma. He ducked behind his screens again, fingers flying across the interfaces.

"If X gets one then I get one, right?" Grian sat up, giving Ren the biggest puppydog eyes he could muster, which was sure to melt Ren like butter.

He considered this one longer, but slowly nodded, falling victim to the big eyes. "Yes! Okay, so was it Doc?"

Ren flinched, and then froze up instantly. He simply stared deeply into his soup, shrugging ever so slightly. "Don' wanna say." He mumbled almost silently.

Grian frowned at his nerve-wracking response. "You can just nod or shake your head; I just want to help." He softened his tone, trying to bring Ren back out of his shell but the damage was done. He stirred his soup slowly, once again unresponsive. "Oh phooey, sorry Ren. I just wanna help, you know that?"

"Maybe that's not the kind of help he needs, hm?" Stress spoke up, a cold tone lacing her voice. "Maybe he just needs soup and love from his friends, but you're too busy thinking about yourself. You need his help to solve your little 'mystery' but you're too dense to see that it's not helping him in the slightest."

Grian felt a wave of shame wash over him, red-hot and painful. He knew she was right, but his ego was too big to take it lying down. "It'll help him in the long-run. I know more than you."

Stress shot to her feet. "You wanna say that to my face?" She hissed, which was far scarier than yelling. He was used to arguments that got louder as they escalated, so Stress getting quieter was really freaking him out. He stood as well.

"Ren has told me a lot of things that you don't know, so trust me when I say that solving these mysteries is all for him."

"Well wait until he can at least walk, or talk, or sit up in bed for more than half an hour! He's hurt Grian, and you need to be a good friend."

"Good friend!? What do you think this is? He's hurt physically yeah, but you don't know how hurt he is inside. It's been months Stress, and it's only gotten worse with Doc being gone. He needs me to fix this!"

"Don't you raise your voice at me!" She shouted, making Grian flinch and getting Xisuma to look up from his screens. "I'm going to nurse him back to health, and you're just making things harder!"

"If you're staying with Ren then I am too! I have just as much right to help him as you do, and probably more." He folded his arms, tucking his trembling hands out of sight. He hadn't fought like this since Evo, and it sparked something painful in him.

Stress pursed her lips, and Grian knew he had crossed a line somewhere. "Out. Both of you." Her voice had gone quiet again.

"Both of us?" Xisuma asked sadly, dismissing his screens.

"Yes. You two are more trouble than you're worth, get out."

Grian shot a glance at Ren before he walked out, and he regretted it instantly. Ren's eyes were wide, with a single tear rolling down his cheek. Ren had to watch that whole scene, and Grian felt awful about it. He turned around, and followed X solemnly out the door.

"Am I too late?" Cub waved from the road. Clearly he was about to walk in when they walked out.

"I suppose. Grian and I have been kicked out, but I'm sure Stress would let you in." Xisuma gestured him towards the door, so Cub obeyed uncertainly. He crept through the door and shut it quietly behind him, and then the house was completely still. With a sigh, Xisuma began strapping on his elytra.

"I'm sorry I got us kicked out," Grian mumbled, eyes locked on his dirty shoes.

"It's okay Grian. May I ask why that got you so heated? I don't think I've ever seen you yell before." Xisuma's tone was gentle, and Grian knew he should start opening up to X about these things more.

"Back in Evo..."

"Evo?"

"Short for evolutions. That was the name we gave the server, since it kept evolving with the updates."

Xisuma nodded in understanding, so Grian took a breath and continued.

"When Taurtis joined toward the end of it all, the vibes were weird, but even before that, there was always an uneasy air to the place. Everyone's homes were built around spawn for the most part, but the actual land was awful. Nothing was lit properly, so creeper holes everywhere. Someone would pillar up with dirt, then leave the pillar there. We had a police department, but it was more trouble than good. There were fights Xisuma, so many fights. I started pranking to lighten the mood, but it only made me feel a little better, because when they discovered the prank they would yell at me. There was so much yelling, but it was all we knew." Grian laughed slightly, but he knew it was fake. "They were all good people, I know it. Netty was especially nice towards the end, but- but it didn't matter how nice they were on the good days, because the good days were far-flung between." Grian took a deep breath to continue, but it caught in his throat and he let out a strangled sob.

"I'm so sorry you went through that Grian," Xisuma offered a gentle hand, but Grian didn't take it.

"Don't say sorry, it's not your fault. Say 'how can I help' or 'I'm sure they were good people' or something! I feel like a three-legged dog when you look at me like that, so stop! This is why I never said anything! I just want to be normal okay!? I hate that I'm like this, I hate that I remember and I just want it all to stop!" He shouted, tears now pouring down his cheeks. He felt like he was watching himself from the outside looking in, looking at how broken he was, but he couldn't stop the crying, couldn't stop the yelling, couldn't stop the ringing in his ears.

Xisuma hesitated, but wrapped his arms around Grian's shuddering frame in a gentle hug. "Would you like me to walk you home?"

Grian numbly shook his head, and he was relieved when Xisuma nodded understandingly. He gave Grian's shoulder a gentle squeeze, then silently walked away. Grian took a moment standing in the street to wipe away his tears and compose himself, then he flew home. He touched down on the outer glass ring, but as he did he recalled how nice his underwater base had been when he visited it the other day, so he instead dove into the frigid water, swimming into his glass bottle. He was eternally grateful to conduits for every day that he stepped out of the water with hair and clothing perfectly dry.

Grian barely managed to stumble into his bedroom before he collapsed on his bed, curling up in the smallest ball he could manage. He just wanted to fall asleep and never wake up. He hated that he remembered his past. It made him different; it made him hurt more than normal people, and it wasn't fair. If he could just delete all his memories he wouldn't be broken today.

The situation with Ren was different though. He had to hold onto the pain, for his friends' sakes. If he didn't, they would have to go through this alone, and he couldn't do that to them. They were suffering, and he knew what that felt like, so he couldn’t just abandon them on purpose. He was there for Ren up to this point, and he would see it through.

For now though, he would bottle it up and move on. This was the first time his emotions had gotten the better of him since joining Hermitcraft, and it wouldn’t happen again any time soon. He curled up in a ball and dreamed of a world where none of this had happened, and for now, that was all he could do.


	16. Expedition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren takes the crew to the forest where it happened.

Grian felt a lot better when he woke up the next morning. All the crying he had done the night before really lifted a weight from his shoulders, but he still felt bad about how things went down yesterday and he needed help fixing it. He'd been on a hot streak hurting people's feelings lately, but he wasn't good at going back and saying sorry once it was all said and done; he couldn't help but worry about how awkward it would be if they didn't forgive him. That's why Grian decided to visit Mumbo; he would either give some sounds advice on how to handle it, or maybe even do it for him. Grian touched down lightly in Mumbo's base, tiptoeing down the glass walkway in search of his friend. He thought Mumbo might be in Hermitville today, but since he was already here he figured he should check. "Mumbo?"

"Grian?" A faint voice yelled from above. Raising a hand to shield his eyes from the rising sun, Grian discovered Mumbo was indeed sitting at the top of the sphere, feet kicking. Grian quickly flew up to him, sitting down and flinging his legs off the side as well. They sat in silence for a moment before Grian spoke up.

"Hey. It's been a hot second huh?"

"Yeah, sorry I've been so busy with my villagers in Hermitville, we haven't hung out in a while."

"It's fine, I've been busy taking care of Ren."

"How's he doing? Have you been able to talk to him about what happened since he woke up?"

Grian cringed. "Well, Stress kinda kicked me out yesterday-"

"She what?" Mumbo turned and gave Grian a startled stare that he knew all too well.

"Yeah, I may have blown up in her face..."

Mumbo's eyes widened. "How bad?"

"Like, real bad. I messed up Mumbo."

Mumbo's startled expression melted into one of caring concern. "You probably want to go apologize but you're too nervous, right?"

Grian instantly felt his face heat up as Mumbo read him like an open book. "How do you know me so well?"

Mumbo simply laughed with a crooked smile, climbing to his feet. He offered a hand to Grian, which Grian accepted and leapt to his feet. "We've been friends for a while, and I've never seen you angry. Let's go visit her together, hm?"

The pair flew to Hermitville mostly in silence as Grian's anxiety skyrocketed with every chunk closer they flew. He knew Stress would forgive him, but he really messed this one up. When they reached the doorstep, Grian's stomach was churning, and he grabbed Mumbo's hand for reassurance. Mumbo squeezed his hand, and led the way into the house quietly.

As his eyes adjusted to the soft indoor lighting, Grian immediately noticed two pair of eyes on him. Ren sat up a little straighter in his bed, his eyes flickering between Grian and Mumbo, and Stress held a neutral expression as they locked eyes.

"Hello all, Grian invited me over if that's alright?" Mumbo spoke softly. Ren split into a wide grin, waving Mumbo over to his bedside adamantly. Grian's stomach fluttered as Mumbo's fingers slipped away from him, leaving him unprotected.

"Oh Mumbo, look at your beautiful mustache! I've missed you!" He cheered. His voice was almost completely returned by now, and the way he danced around in bed displayed just how anxious he was to get moving again. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, but the real question is how are you?" Mumbo laughed at Ren's puppy-like energy.

"I'm fine! Stress says I should be able to try walking this afternoon if I'm careful. This darned boot has trapped me in bed for the last week," Ren pouted, gesturing to the boot on his foot.

"So what happened?"

Ren's smile faltered. "Uh, ya know, crazy stuff in the woods and all that."

"Grian's got you hooked on his mystery too, huh?" Stress folded her arms with an exasperated smile, and Grian hoped that meant he was in the clear. He had spent years overanalyzing subtle expressions like this, but being on hermitcraft had dulled his senses. He frowned slightly, noting that he needed to be more aware of his surroundings; his heightened senses were the only things he could trust to tell him when things were going south.

"Oh no, I was just curious what could cause a compound fracture like that!"

"Well look who's a doctor now!" Stress commented.

"It- I was just- I don't wanna say it." Ren evolved into whispers, ducking his head under the gaze of everyone's eyes. Grian nearly wanted to scream, just pull the words out of Ren's mouth, but thankfully Mumbo took over.

"Does a walk in the woods sound nice? It could get you out of bed, and maybe you could show us where it happened?"

Ren nodded slowly. "Yeah, let's do that. Bring X and Cub."

Grian whipped his phone out, fingers flying as he texted Xisuma and Cub to come over.

**Grian**: Get over here u 2

**Grian**: Rens taking us to where it happened

**Xisuma**: Be there in a second.

**Cub**: Same, on my way.

**Grian**: k hurry

"They're on their way!"

"Awesome! Can I stand up now Stress?" Ren turned to Stress with a wide grin, and she nodded with a giggle. He practically flew to his feet, flinging himself into Mumbo's arms. "I forgot how nice standing is!"

"Good to see you up and moving again Ren!" Xisuma commented as he let himself into the house.

"Xisuma!" Ren bounded to the door, tripping on his boot and falling into Xisuma's arms with a giddy laugh.

"Do I get a welcome hug too?" Cub chuckled at the scene as he entered as well. This was the most people the small house had ever hosted, and it was becoming increasingly clear that they needed to get out.

"So, are we going to the woods or not?" Grian opened the door, gesturing as calmly as he could with his nerves shot as they were.

"I'm going to stay here if you boys don't mind," Stress spoke up. "Someone needs to clean this place up!"

"I'll stay with her!" Mumbo offered quickly. "You guys have fun!"

"Alright then, let's go!" Ren led the party out the door, and Cub and Xisuma on his tail. Grian shot a glance at Mumbo, and he nodded with a smile.

"Be safe, and let me know if you find anything okay? Love you."

"Love you too," Grian smiled, shutting the door behind him. The expedition started out lighthearted; Ren ran ahead, then waited for Cub and X to catch up; the air was light and full of laughter. The morning sunlight lit up the leaves beautifully, and everything was bathed in a gentle green light.

Grian found himself lost in his thoughts, trailing behind the others as he looked around. This was an old forest, and the trees had rough, curling bark that extended far above their heads. From the canopy, the sounds of birds chattering to each other could be heard, and the occasional shuffling of leaves alerted when one fluttered from branch to branch. As they walked, thick underbrush whipped at their ankles. Grian noted it would hold him back if he needed to run, which he filed away for the Ren case later. Occasionally bushes in the distance would shudder, hinting at other small animals lurking in the woods. When he strained his ears, Grian could even determine a small stream running to their right. All the sounds and humid air made it feel like they had stepped into a fantasy realm, and any second now they would step into a clearing with a beautiful castle.

Instead, Grian bumped into Xisuma's armored back, snapping him back to reality, where Ren had frozen ahead of them, holding his arms and shaking slightly. A large tree was fallen in front of Ren, and it looked like it had only fallen recently. Could Doc really knock over a tree, let alone a big one like this? It certainly didn't look natural.

"Was this the spot?" Xisuma spoke softly.

Ren nodded slightly. "...he chased me. From here to the village."

"Did he do this?" Cub asked, stepping up to the fallen tree.

Grian didn't like the air here. The canopy was denser this deep in the forest, and the shrubbery thicker. Grian's eyes flickered across the area, never resting as he searched. The more he looked, the more obvious signs he found of human life. A trail had been trampled, which Grian could trace beyond the fallen tree and leading back the way they came. They had walked nearly parallel to it on the way here, but it would be safer and easier to follow the trail on their way back.

"I don't see any heat signatures besides us and some rabbits, so we should be safe, don't worry," Xisuma consoled.

"Did you hear that?" Grian murmured, tensing. He could have sworn he saw a bush shake to their right.

"Surely it's just a rabbit." Cub rubbed Ren's shoulders, who looked nearly as scared as Grian felt.

"Where did you hear it?" Xisuma whispered. Grian pointed silently to the bush. Xisuma squinted in its direction, but shook his head. "There's no heat source over there, it must have been the wind."

The bush moved slightly, and everyone jumped. Cub motioned them over to him, so Grian and Xisuma carefully crept to where Ren and Cub were backed up against the tree. For a second that felt like an eternity, they sat pressed together, breath baited as they watched the seemingly inconspicuous bush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haven’t had a cliffhanger in a while >;)


	17. Twilight Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren recalls his incident in the forest.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

It was just supposed to be a quick trip to the forest outside of Hermitville to grab some vines, but it clearly wasn't going well. Ren found himself completely turned around, hoping he could make it back home without getting caught by any stray ravagers or wolves. He could hear a stream somewhere ahead of him, so he was making his way there, though he didn't have much of a plan after that to be honest. He hoped the water would guide him back to civilization, but he had no reason to believe that would actually happen. Bushes rustled around him, and he had to swallow down his terror that something was going to jump out of the bushes and attack him. Every small sound had him searching for danger, which made the thundering _crack_ that split the air all the more startling.

Ren jumped a mile in the air as he whirled around to confront the source. He had just enough time to realize the ancient oak was toppling in his direction, sending him scurrying away as the massive trunk crashed into the ground where he had just been standing, sending a shockwave through the earth and up Ren's legs. He was petrified, his heart hammering in his ears as he recovered from the shock of what had just happened. Ren figured it must have simply fallen from old age, since there were no creatures in sight, so he took a deep breath to calm his shot nerves. After taking a moment to rest against the tree, he hoisted himself back to his feet, ready to continue his trek towards the village. Problem was, he had gotten all turned around, and he couldn’t pinpoint which direction his stream was coming from anymore.

Suddenly, a trident sunk into the dirt next to Ren, sending him sprawling away in shock. "Halt trespasser!" Doc stood perched on the fallen tree, the light from between the trees framing him eerily.

"Doc? Is that you?" He asked as he scrambled back onto his feet. A million thoughts flew through his mind, but first and foremost was pure elation to see his friend again. He had almost gotten used to Doc not being around over the last month, but seeing his metallic face glint in the light made Ren unbelievably happy. What were the odds they would run into each other in these woods? The thought that Doc's project could be in these woods crossed his mind, which was thrilling. He bounded over to Doc to give him a hug, but hesitated when Doc growled. Ren had never heard him genuinely growl like that.

"Listen to me! If you don't stop, you won't like what happens next!" Doc rumbled, jumping off the log to land in front of Ren. His arms were tense, his sharpened claws becoming all too obvious as they glinted, blocking Ren's path.

"Look man, crazy jungle Doc is a good bit, but you did that one last season. I haven't seen you in a while, let's catch up on old times," Ren reasoned. His love was blinding him, but looking back on the events, Ren realized now that his actions were all wrong.

Doc's red eye flared brightly. "If you do not leave the premises immediately, I will be forced to remove you."

Ren wilted slightly. "Ah. Well, I guess we’ll hang out another time. It was nice to see you..." There were so many things Ren wanted to say, so many hours of tears, stress and agony Ren wanted to blame him for, but looking into Doc’s emotionless eyes, he couldn’t say anything. Ren ducked his head, hiding the tears that were growing in his eyes as he went to step around Doc. He instead found himself face to face with a handful of claws.

"Get. Out."

Ren swallowed thickly. He hadn't planned on seeing Doc today, not like this. He wasn't quite sure what game Doc was playing, but Ren had an inventory full of vines that he needed to get home. He couldn’t die, not right now. Doc got invested is his story lines quickly, and it was becoming increasingly clear that it was a fight or flight situation, and Ren couldn’t fight. "I just need to get past you, the village is behind you..."

"You asked for it." In the blink of an eye, Doc pulled his arm back and swiftly punched Ren in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. His ears rang and his vision shook as he recovered from the blow. The vague figure of Doc approaching him again sent him scrambling to his feet, and he set off in a dead sprint.

He wasn't even sure he was running in the direction of the village, but he didn't stop to consider it for one second. He could hear Doc right behind him, flying through the underbrush like he had been born there, which being part creeper, might not be too far off. His breath was heavy, his heart pounding in his ears. Why couldn't Doc just let him go home?

Ren couldn't conjure a good ending to this scenario. He wasn't in shape, and Doc was an unbelievably strong creeper hybrid. He couldn't outrun Doc in this underbrush, and based on the way he was acting, Doc wasn't going to give him any slack if he got caught. Ren could very well die in the forest, bleeding out where no one would ever find him or his items. The alternate was making it to Hermitville before Doc caught him, but even then, there was a chance Doc could just kill Ren and anyone he could find in the village.

Ren couldn't decide which of these scenarios was worse, so he kept running. He could feel his lungs giving out now, and he felt like Doc was practically on top of him. In a last ditch effort, Ren attempted to pull his phone out of his pocket, but it slowed him down enough for Doc to catch him.

Ren went down hard, Doc slamming down on top of him, his claws raking Ren's back. If he didn't have a concussion from the first blow, he certainly did now. Everything spun, and he knew he was dying today, one way or another. "What are you doing man?" He slurred.

Doc's grip loosened a fraction, giving Ren room to roll over and face his assailant. Doc's eyes flashed fearfully for a fraction of a second, then they hardened. Doc tightened his grip on Ren again, his claws digging into Ren's shoulders. "Shut up," he hissed.

"What happened to you bro? Drop the act for one second and talk to your best friend." Ren mumbled. He was going to die, might as well shoot his shot.

"Stop! You don't know what you're talking about!" Doc cried. "Shut up!" His loud voice rattled in Ren's already-aching head.

Ren sat up slowly, and Doc let him. They sat in silence, and Ren noticed a tear run down Doc's cheek. Ren's head was filled with searing pain, and he wanted nothing more than to burst into tears right now, but he knew had one more chance. He twirled around and broke into a run from his sitting position, hoping to catch Doc off guard, but it didn't work. Doc snagged his arm, his sharpened claws and steel-like grip piercing Ren's skin with a cry.

"Doc stop, you're hurting me!" He wailed, attempting to free his arm.

"Stop talking you idiot!" A loud crack echoed through the forest as Doc slapped Ren across the face.

Ren simply sat slack jawed, his cheek already numbing as it started to swell. Silent tears poured down his face as he looked up at Doc.

"Hey Doc," he whispered, terrified he would get hurt again. "This role play stuff is for fun, right?"

Doc didn't reply.

"I'm not having fun."

"...The overlords wouldn't lie to me," Doc mumbled, scarcely moving a muscle. Ren was barely conscious by now, and the only thought he held onto was making it back to the village. He weakly tried to pull away from Doc, but that earned him a growl and a slash across his stomach. He figured he had gone into shock already, since the pain was dulled. He could tell it was deep as he felt warm blood pouring from the gash instantly.

Doc dropped Ren roughly, then gave him one lingering look before darting back into the woods, but Ren couldn't care less. He had to get home. Now.

He pulled himself to his feet using a tree, but only managed to stumble a couple steps before he tripped on a tree root, his ankle making a horrible crackling sound. Unbearable pain shot up his leg, so he opted to crawl.

He dragged himself through the underbrush slowly, but he wasn't even sure he was moving at this point. The edges of his vision blurred, and he couldn’t feel his limbs to tell if he was even moving them. Everything was growing numb, but his mind wouldn't let him rest until he reached his goal. The closer he got, the more he was sure he could reach safety. At some point he ended up on his feet again, ambling through the forest as well as he could with his ankle refusing to cooperate. He could see the sunlight now, he was going to make it. He burst into the light, the sight of the village wall the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. His mind relaxed at last, and he fell roughly into the dirt, faintly aware of someone coming towards him.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.


	18. Anomaly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They find Doc and Scar, and a little something that no one had bargained for.

The bush moved slightly, and everyone jumped. Cub motioned them over to him, so Grian and Xisuma carefully crept to where Ren and Cub were backed up against the tree. For a second that felt like an eternity, they sat pressed together, breath baited as they watched the seemingly inconspicuous bush.

Despite how prepared they were for something to come out of the bush, a loud crashing from their left startled them. The sudden noise apparently startled the bush as well, as it began shaking, and then Doc exploded from it, bolting directly at the group crouched against the tree. Just as quickly, the creature that made the sound to the left appeared from the forest, darting after Doc. The creeper man didn't heed the party any notice as he leapt directly over their heads, thundering back into the trees behind them. The figure chasing him revealed itself to be Scar as he grew close, eyes widening when he spotted the odd crew on the ground. His pace didn't slow as he bounded over their heads as well, yelling over his shoulder as he ran. "I've got a trap up north, help me herd him there!"

A few terrified glances were shared, but Cub was the first one to leap to his feet, darting after Doc and Scar as they disappeared into the thick foliage, Xisuma, Ren and Grian hot on his tail. It was nearly impossible to see with all the leaves and branches whipping across his vision, but Cub locked onto Scar's running form, and sped up to catch him. They fell into step beside each other, Scar using his machete to swipe at branches as Cub began speeding past him. "I'm going to pull left and force him to turn, okay?"

Scar gave him a breathless nod, eyes never leaving Doc's form. It wasn't easy to see him through all the leaves, considering his bright white lab coat was nowhere to be seen. Taking an extra deep breath, Cub sped from a run to a sprint, closing the gap between him and Doc fairly quickly. He couldn't keep up this speed for very long, so he drifted to Doc's left side and yelled as loud as he could. Doc glanced in Cub's direction for a fraction of a second, and just as expected, he took a sharp right.

Cub slowed to a jog, gasping for breath as he watched Scar turn to follow Doc. Ren was close behind him, so Cub took his time catching his breath before joining Xisuma and Grian at their brisk jog. They weren't the most active runners on the server, so Cub respected them following at their speed. "What's going on up there?" Grian puffed.

"I got Doc running in the right direction, so I'm trusting Ren and Scar to run him right into the trap, wherever it is." Cub wished he carried water bottles right about now. "I'm gonna go catch up, okay?"

Xisuma offered a short nod, and Grian gave a thumbs up. "We'll be there quick as we can."

"No problem." Cub sped his jog up to a run, and it wasn't long before he bursted into a large clearing, and at the center stood Doc in a cage of iron bars, gasping for breath as he scowled at Scar. Cub joined them, and all four hermits took a moment to catch their breath. Cub cursed himself for not working out as often as he used to since founding ConCorp, but he was thankful he still had something.

Taking a moment to really look at Doc, there was a startling difference from his normal self. Obviously his lab coat was nowhere to be seen, but his pants were also ragged around the ankles from the thorny forest, along with countless small scratches running up and down his arms and legs. His eyes were wide, and as Cub watched him, they dilated, and Doc collapsed to the floor of the cage.

"Doc!" Ren cried, clutching at the bars of the cage. Scar silently pulled him away, still trying to catch his breath. "What's wrong with Doc, please Scar what's wrong?" Ren begged, never tearing his eyes from Doc's prone form as tears began pouring down his face.

"Did you make it? Looks like it!" Xisuma asked as he and Grian ran into the clearing. They both shared concerned looks in Doc's direction, but quickly the focus was turned to Ren, who was having a hard time catching his breath while crying. They spent a few minutes in silence, sharing some bread that Grian had brought, and drinking from a natural spring on the edge of the area. Cub took a moment to look around finally, and it was clear that this was where Scar and Doc had been hiding out all this time. Near the spring, two sturdy tents were set up, with a fire pit and log benches around it. On the opposite side of the area, a small pool of water was clearly acting as a concrete maker, as concrete powder was scattered everywhere and shulker boxes stood nearby. A pen full of pigs sat close enough to the pond that the ground was soft and muddy, so the pigs were contently rolling around in it. There was also an entrance to a small cave near the pool, though it appeared well lit.

"So I guess I've got some explaining to do, huh?" Scar laughed slightly.

"Yeah, I'd say so." Xisuma hummed lightly, but it was clear he was just as deeply concerned as everyone else.

"Right. So, remember that plane crash at the start of the season?" Scar was met with various nods, so he continued. "Well I found some sort of nest out there, so naturally I set a trap. I didn't expect to catch an alien," He chuckled nervously as the small group erupted into murmuring.

"I'm assuming you still have this creature trapped?" Xisuma asked, his voice laced with concern.

"Is it dangerous?" Grian cried, his fingers laced between Ren's as they wore a similar mask of fear. Cub figured he looked much the same way, based on the way his heart rattled in his rib cage. An alien? What did that _mean_?

"Yeah, don't worry. We can go see him if you'd like?" Scar offered, standing up. "It's about his feeding time, so let me grab some pork real quick."

Scar killed a couple of pigs quickly, and so the party followed Scar into the small cave Cub spotted earlier. The tunnel was cool and the walls were coated with vines, but beyond that it was relatively dry. The natural path splintered off several times, but all the passages had been blocked off by cobblestone long ago. Cub was growing concerned with how long this tunnel was going on for, and he couldn't help his racing mind wondering what they might discover at the end of this passage. An _alien_? Surely it was just some creature that had never been discovered; who was to say aliens were even real in the first place? Cub's uneasiness grew the longer they walked in silence, the strange atmosphere making his stomach twist in ways he didn’t know were possible. He held out faith that Scar knew what he was doing though; they had been through so much together Cub couldn’t help but trust him. Scar slowed to a stop, and Cub peered over Xisuma's shoulder to discover that the tunnel simply dropped off here, disappearing into a dark hole. There was no light in the hole, the ground below just barely visible to Cub's keen eyes.

"Here we are. If we drop the pork, he'll come grab it and you can get a look at him." Scar waited as the group spread out around the perimeter of the hole, then tossed the meat into the center of it, hitting the ground with a disgusting slap. For a few agonizing seconds the air was silent, every hermit holding their breath as they watched the pork intently.

Just as Cub was about to ask Scar what they were waiting for, footsteps began echoing from below. They sounded like bare human feet to Cub's horror, and in a flash, there it was. The creature must have been only slightly taller than a regular player, and it was humanoid as well. Beyond that, there was no semblance of humanity in the thing. It picked up the pig carcass in one massive hand, shooting a glance upward long enough for Cub to know he hated the thing. It's face was adjacent to an ape, but it's skin was pasty white in contrast to the grey fur coating the rest of its body. Most horrific however, was its bloodstained mouth. There didn't appear to be any fresh blood on its maw, but the fur around its mouth was permanently stained red, a threatening sight as its wide black eyes seemed to bore straight into Cub's soul. And then, just as quickly as it appeared, it darted off into the caverns with its new meal.

For a moment, time was suspended as they continued staring into the hole, petrified, but Scar cleared his throat awkwardly, breaking the spell. "Well, there he is, hehe."

"...Scar what on earth." Grian breathed.

"Yeah," was all Cub could muster, his heart still in his throat.

"Scar, why have you not told me about this?" Xisuma demanded.

"Uh, see it sounds silly now that I think about it, but... He hasn't done anything to hurt anyone, and I was afraid you would make me kill him," Scar mumbled, kicking a pebble at his feet.

"Yeah, that was a pretty good guess," Xisuma laughed anxiously. "Scar, this thing is an anomaly. I haven't been able to track it all season- I didn’t even know it existed! And, and now I haven't been able to find you and Doc for months! This thing is a danger to us, if not the very fabric of the world!" Xisuma cried.

"I know! I know and that's why I didn't tell you and I'm sorry! But you can't kill him, not now. We've gone too deep now, and we have to finish what we've started." Tears were growing in Scar's eyes, and Cub wanted nothing more than to comfort his friend, but he found himself still frozen to the floor. Not to mention he had avoided thinking about it all this time, but last time he and Scar had seen each other, Cub told him that he never wanted to see him again. Cub had never had so many mixed emotions before, let alone discovered an alien at the same time, so he stood, watching this scene unfold in horror.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but this anomaly is clearly getting inside your head and your code; Doc too. We can't keep this thing around any longer!" Xisuma insisted.

"No! Please, he can hear us right now so I can't say much, but trust me, you can't get rid of him, not now." Tears were pouring down Scar's face now, his eyes filled with pure terror.

"Scar, you have to kill this alien."


	19. Sorcery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of confrontation that makes Grian anxious, and something that nobody could have expected.

"I... can't."

The cavern was dead silent, all eyes locked on Scar and Xisuma as they stared each other down. Anxiety gripped at Grian's chest, his breathing shallow as he watched in horror. Was he really about to witness the murder of this creature? What if Scar refused? Grian's heart leapt into his throat, imagining the fear in Scar's eyes as Xisuma banned him and Doc. Xisuma was an admin; he would do anything for the safety of his server, and that notion had been comforting until right now. The flame in Xisuma's eyes, glowing behind his visor was an image that sent a shiver down Grian's spine.

Xisuma was the first one to break eye contact, taking a small step backwards. "Let's go check on Doc," He mumbled. Head hung so his expression was unreadable, Xisuma began leading the party out of the cave. Scar followed him dutifully, and Grian risked a glance at Ren and Scar as they fell into step as well. Cub was stone-faced, which didn't surprise Grian. Cub was probably having a hard time processing like himself, but Cub was far stronger-willed than Grian would ever be. Ren on the other hand had lagged behind the rest of the group, his expression of fear a reflection of Grian's own feelings; he couldn't imagine Ren was taking any of this very well. As Grian walked, he took deep breaths, willing his anxious heart to stop rattling in his chest. Nothing happened back there, and all the hermits were friends, even if they disagreed sometimes. Then again, he had considered his server mates from Evo as friends, but that ended about as poorly as it could have. He could only hope that when the creature was brought up again, things weren't quite as heated as they were back there.

The beams of sunlight were weak as they passed through the canopy of leaves above, but they still forced Grian to blink tears out of his eyes as they stepped back into the clearing. Instinctively, everyone approached the cage holding Doc, and Grian had to admit it was still a strange sight. One of his own server mates, unconscious in an iron cage. He wasn't unconscious for long however, as their reentry seemed to make him stir. Doc sat up slowly with a groan, massaging his temples as he squinted at his surroundings. He caught sight of Scar immediately, and his shoulders visibly relaxed. "How long was it?"

Scar wrung his hands. "Uh, a couple hours. It's getting worse, but I showed them, and Xisuma is here to help." He gestured to Xisuma, and by extension the rest of the group, and only then did Doc seem to notice them. He tensed up, eyeing everyone warily, though Grian didn't miss the way his eyes shot open wider when he noticed Ren, before glancing back at the ground. He filed that odd behavior away for later.

"We don't need any help," he muttered without looking up.

Xisuma took a cautious step forward. ""Doc, I don't know everything, but I want to help. This... anomaly, is affecting you two, and by the looks of things it's not in a good way. Please, let me get rid of the alien, and then we can get you out of this cage and back to safety." Xisuma held his gloved hands out in a placating manner, but Doc simply stared at him intensely. Out of the corner of his eye, Grian watched Scar wrestle with himself, reaching a hand out to stop Xisuma before pulling back several times, panic growing with each second.

"You want to get rid of them?" Doc growled, climbing to his feet slowly. "Xisumavoid, you have no idea the forces you're messing with here. Take them home and let us keep working." Doc gestured to the spectating hermits without breaking eye contact with Xisuma. The same tension that Scar and X had in the cave could be felt now, and Grian could swear it felt like the air was literally static charged, making his hair stand on end.

"See Doc, this isn't you, I can tell. This thing is getting in your head, and I want to protect you. Let me help you." Xisuma offered again, being careful to keep his tone even, though Grian could tell he was getting worked up again.

"We don't want your help!" He snarled with bared, sharpened teeth. "You can't kill him! YOU CAN'T KILL ME! XISUMAVOID, YOU WILL NOT KILL ME UNTIL MY MISSION IS COMPLETE!" Doc roared, the light in his eyes blinking out into blackness.

Grian felt hot tears pricking at his eyes as he watched the scene unfold with horror. Xisuma didn't seem to be himself either as he straightened his shoulders with a quiet growl, and suddenly things were dissolving before Grian's eyes.

"I'll kill it!" Xisuma yelled, eliciting a cry from Scar. He leapt forward, trying to put distance between X and Doc, but it didn't work. Doc lunged, his arm sticking through the bars of the cage, startling everyone with how far his arms could reach. X was unable to defend himself as Doc got a good scratch across Xisuma's chest piece, sending him stumbling back with a grimace. He glanced down for a moment to inspect the damage, but when he found he wasn't bleeding he turned to Scar. His piercing glare was enough to send the poor man back a step, out of the line of fire between these two hermits blinded by anger. Grian could only look on in horror as they stared each other down, not a glint of mercy behind their eyes. He wanted to step in, he wanted to cry and scream, he wanted it to stop, stop stop.

Xisuma returned to his feet quickly, his shimmering diamond sword drawing a gasp from Scar as he approached the cage again. He hefted the sword high above his head, prepared to bring it down on Doc, but Doc was quicker. With a speed Grian had never seen, Doc dodged to the side of the falling blade at the last moment, grabbing the sharp shaft with his metallic hand and yanking swiftly. Startled by the change, Xisuma could do nothing as the blade was yanked out of his hands and pointed right back at him. Xisuma backed up with a grimace, but pulled out his bow, undeterred. He nocked an arrow, and Doc held the sword carefully, aiming to block the arrow when it came.

Something happened next however, something that no one could have expected. A twisting vine rocketed out of the ground at Xisuma's feet, knocking the arrow out of the air as he loosed it, and the shock sent him stumbling away wide-eyed. Silence fell over the clearing as the tendril returned to the earth like nothing had happened. The only sound in the clearing was the panting of the winded combatants and the faint bubbling of the stream in the distance.

"Please, just stop," Scar sobbed, fruitlessly trying to wipe away the tears as they poured down his face. He stood, now the center of everyone's attention with one arm outstretched, pointed to the ground where the vine had emerged. If you had asked Grian yesterday if magic was real, he would have laughed in their face, but anyone could tell there was a palpable energy radiating off Scar as he eyed them all warily. He took another moment to calm his crying, and he hiccuped as he spoke up again. "Please, can't you see Xisuma? He's powerful, and we need to keep him safe. We can make a bunker. We can contain him. But please, don't kill him, and don't kill Doc. It's not his fault, it's mine," His voice cracked as he begged, the pure pain echoing in every word.

Xisuma stood slowly, seemingly unsure what to do with himself. "I'm- I'm sorry, I don't- don't know what came over me. I don't think I understand what's happening here, but I think you two know how to fix it. Can I trust you Scar?" His voice was quiet and hollow; Grian had never seen the admin so repentant and fearful before.

Scar nodded. "We'll build it here. Don't let anyone get close, and don't tell the other hermits; I don't want them worrying too." Scar seemed to be recovering now, and he smiled weakly. "Just go back to normal life; I promise I'll keep Doc safe."

Xisuma nodded ever so slightly, seemingly still in just as much shock as everyone else. "Let's go everyone, this isn't a place for us."

As they silently walked out of the clearing, Grian risked one last glance backwards. Doc locked eyes with him, the fear and pain in his eyes piercing Grian to his core. Scar looked on as well, sadness filling his vision as he watched them walk away. Grian spun back around quickly, following Xisuma into the forest.  
  


It was a painfully silent walk home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’ve reached a turning point 👀


	20. Soulmates?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren just had a really stressful day; luckily Iskall is here!

**Ren**: hey skall u wanna hang?

**Iskall**: of course! Your in hermitville?

**Ren**: ye

Iskall stepped out of the portal, breathing in the fresh air in Hermitville. The hermits had agreed to not build big farms in the area to preserve nature, and Iskall was living for it. He could smell the fresh piney smell of the woods surrounding the town, and foxes darted between houses like common squirrels. It was hard to pull away from the whirlwind of hermitcraft, but this place sure helped. Glancing around, he spotted Ren sitting on a log under a small awning. "Ren!" He glided down and sat next to Ren happily, but his smile wasn't reciprocated. Ren's eyes were locked on the ground, and they were clearly red from crying. "What's wrong?"

Ren dug his fingernails into his pants, avoiding Iskall's gaze. "I just need a distraction right now."

Iskall nodded reassuringly. "Gotcha. Do you want to go shopping? Maybe go bother Mumbo?"

Ren considered it for a moment. "Let's go shopping."

"Sounds great." Iskall stood and offered Ren a hand up. He didn't know what had Ren so down in the dumps today, but as his best friend, taking him shopping was the least Iskall could do. Ren wasn't easily bothered most of the time, but ever since Doc had stopped talking to him, he had been having bigger mood swings, which concerned Iskall. He hoped Ren knew that he would do anything for his best friend, because he would. As soon as Iskall found out where Doc was hiding, he was going to hunt that coward of a creeper man down and give him a piece of his mind.

Iskall glanced back, realizing Ren had fallen behind. Ren snapped to attention when Iskall looked at him, but Iskall saw the pained expression on his face for a fraction of a second. "You feeling okay?"

"Never better!" Ren offered a wide smile, but Iskall didn't miss the way he favored his foot as he caught up.

"Is your foot still hurting?"

Ren widened his eyes guiltily, but shook his head regardless. "I'm fine, I promise." Iskall simply stared him down, until the poor man let out a sigh. "So maybe I took my boot off sooner than I should have. I still wanna go out with you!" He plead.

"Ren, let's hang out here. I miss you, but I don't want to be the one responsible if you break your ankle again." Iskall offered his arm to Ren, who after hesitating for a moment, accepted gratefully. They quietly walked back to the house Ren had been staying in recently, and plopped down on the edge of the bed.

"It feels like we haven't hung out in forever, how are you doing?" Ren asked quietly.

Iskall shrugged. "Nothing too mega; just fixing up Sahara and stocking Sahara Now."

"That's nice."

An awkward silence fell between them. Iskall was tempted to ask what Ren had been up to, but he had already been chewed out for sticking his nose where it didn't belong once. Luckily for him, he didn't care. "What's been going on with you?"

Ren fiddled with his fingers, his face flushing and tears growing in his eyes again. "I'm not supposed to say. Can we talk about something else?"

Iskall was shellshocked, but recovered quickly. "Yeah, sure." He wasn't supposed to say? What secret was Ren keeping? Presumably it had to do with Doc, right? Ohh, Iskall was going to pry this secret out of Ren somehow- but for now, his friend was upset, and he should focus on supporting him.

"Can you get my guitar?"

Iskall snapped out of his thoughts, and mindlessly passed Ren the guitar from where it rested against the night stand. Ren smiled slightly as the worn guitar entered his grasp, running his fingers across the well-worn fretboard. "Do you remember where I got this guitar?"

Iskall smiled. "How could I forget? I made it for you for Christmas our first year on hermitcraft."

"It's the best gift I've even gotten, man. How did you even learn how to make this thing?" Ren laughed slightly.

"It wasn't easy, dude. I don't play guitar so I was just glad it was playable when I gave it to you!"

Ren began strumming gently, some simple chords that even Iskall could identify thanks to his lessons from Ren. Slowly, it morphed into a familiar quirky tune that sent a smile to his face. "This was the first song I wrote with this guitar."

"Hermitron Go..." Iskall smiled at the memory. "We should bring that back some day."

"Ha, yeah, that would be awesome!" Ren laughed. "Do you think it would be possible to play hermitron with real animals? We've added turtles and bees since season four, so we probably have enough passive mobs to do it."

"How would that even work? You could trap animals in boxes but you'd only have enough for one set!"

"I guess you're right, but I still like the idea of it."

"That's what she said," Iskall muttered with a smirk, instantly gratified when Ren exploded with laughter. Ren's laugh was super contagious to Iskall, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter as well.

As their giggles died off, Iskall was happy to see that Ren seemed to have forgotten his worries for the time being. He hugged his guitar, the crows feet around his eyes prominent from laughter. It always made Iskall nostalgic seeing Ren laugh so hard; they spent nearly every waking moment together in season four, and then lived together in season five. It had been hard to leave each other's sides at the start of this season, but they knew it would be good to have some space. As much as Iskall had appreciated bouncing ideas off new people, he missed Ren desperately.

"I love you dude, I hope you know that."

Ren looked at Iskall in surprise. "Where's this coming from?"

Iskall shrugged, suddenly embarrassed. "I don't know, I just feel like we're soulmates, if soulmates were best friends, ya know?"

Ren considered him for a moment before cracking a heartwarming smile. "Me too man, me too. Ya know what we haven't done in forever?"

Iskall lit up, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "Absolutely."

Before long a nest of blankets and pillows had formed on the floor, the pair curled up back to back under the covers (with a small cushion for Ren's ankle to rest on). They drifted to sleep easily, just like those warm summer nights all those years ago. They both needed this break.


	21. Possessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cub and Xisuma have a talk about Doc and Scar

Xisuma and Cub walked through the shopping district silently, minds swirling with everything that had just witnessed. Once they had left the forest after confronting Scar and Doc, Grian immediately broke off, flying to who knows where; Cub didn't blame him. Ren had cried silently the whole walk home, so by the time they reached Hermitville he was shaking with no more tears left to cry. Xisuma gave him some water and suggested he get some rest, but Cub noted as they walked away that he already had Iskall's number open on his phone. Now, Xisuma and Cub were at a loss for words.

They silently meandered towards ConCorp, and Cub's mind gravitated towards Scar again. Scar had conjured those vines, there was no doubt in Cub's mind. Conjured, Scar had performed magic. That can't be right, it just can't be, magic isn't real. And yet, with a shiver down his spine, Cub recalled the fear in Scar's eyes as he thrust his hand forward, forcing the vines into a barrier in front of Doc. And not to mention the alien; oh the alien.

It was all so wrong.

"It wasn't me Cub." Xisuma's voice cracked as he spoke up. "Do you believe me?" Cub had never heard the admin so broken before, so genuinely upset. Xisuma always did a good job at putting on a brave face for the server, even if they could all tell how he was really feeling. Cub had had countless late-night discussions with Xisuma, and knew that the poor man didn't consider himself a brave or admin-like person, so putting on the mask was tiring for him. Despite all of that, he continued to do so, for the safety of mind of the rest of the hermits. But right now, Xisuma dropped all pretenses, exhaustion and fear shaking his voice.

Cub shot a glance around the shopping district, and despite seeing no one, decided it would be safer to talk about this somewhere else. "Let's talk somewhere more private." They quickened their pace, retreating to the private confines of ConCorp. Xisuma sighed once they were safely inside, and turned to Cub with tired eyes. "It wasn't me attacking Doc. I don't know what happened, but I promise it wasn't me."

Cub's heart plummeted. He hoped, he knew in his heart Xisuma wouldn't attack Scar and Doc the way he did, but hearing out of his mouth was chilling. Magic wasn't real, he reassured himself again, but somehow he told himself that he knew what was causing this unknown magic to occur. "I know."

"You know? Cub, you- what?" Xisuma pulled off his helmet, running a hand through his unkempt hair. His eyes were wide and fearful, but the bags under his eyes revealed how long this anxiety had persisted.

"We never planned on the alien escaping, so I wasn't going to tell you. I wish I had said something sooner now, but Scar and I brought that alien here." Cub sighed, deep set exhaustion seeping into his bones. This wasn't how he wanted to tell Xisuma about his involvement.

Xisuma froze, visually processing his words. "You guys.. what? How?" Xisuma stressed, running another hand through his hair.

"It's a long story, and apparently I don't know most of it. Scar is the one who found it last season; it was injured on the outskirts of the jungle. You know Scar, he just had to nurse the creature back to health, and he couldn't leave it behind when we hopped worlds. However, something about the jump upset the creature, and Scar couldn't calm it down again. We caged it far away in a jungle, so if it ever escaped it could never find the hermits."

Cub paused, waiting for Xisuma to ask the question that seemed to be on the tip of his tongue. "You released a magical creature into the wild without telling me? How did I not find him in the code sooner?"

Cub simply shook his head. "He displayed no signs of magic when I last saw him, so your guess is as good as mine. From what we just saw and you experienced, I would imagine it either hid it's magic from us initially, or developed magic somehow. It's obviously not an admin, so any magic it possesses has never been seen before and impossible to predict."

After a long pause, Xisuma heaved a sigh. "As upset as I am that you didn't tell me sooner, I'm more concerned with keeping Doc and Scar safe. I'm fairly certain it was the alien that made me attack Doc. I wouldn't even call it possession, it was like I felt myself getting angrier than I wanted to be. I couldn't help myself, I was- I was in control of my body, but not my mind, I wanted to kill Doc. Oh Cub, I wanted to kill him." Xisuma locked eyes with Cub, his pained words becoming punctuated by silent tears pouring down his cheeks.

Cub gently took hold of Xisuma's shoulders, murmuring softly as he attempted to help Xisuma calm down. Xisuma muttered more self-deprecating words, which broke down into sobs. Cub had never heard so much pain in tears, but then again, his friend had never attempted to kill his servermates in cold blood. Cub patiently waited for Xisuma to wipe away the stray tears before speaking up again. "Would a walk help clear your head?"

Xisuma nodded mutely, and Cub took him by the hand to help him stand up. They wandered through the ConCorp grounds slowly, Cub occasionally pointing out halfway complete projects or new planters in front of buildings in hushed voices to distract them. Cub did his best to avoid thinking about the situation, and soon both of them were much more composed than they were before. Scar still tugged at his mind, but Cub was good at ignoring that by now. "Hey, would you like to see my new villager trading hall?"

"Absolutely!"

Cub pushed open the grand doors, and instantly they were greeted by the low chattering of villagers. Cub's pride swelled as he watched Xisuma gasp in awe at the space. The ceiling was open through the middle of all three stories, natural light pouring in. In front of them stood rows upon rows of books, shelves towering above their heads. Librarians murmured as they puttered about, pulling out and replacing books as if they were doing important work. The next floor up took advantage of Xisuma's cactus-smelting xp farm design, furnaces lining the walls and siphoning cactus from the farm next door. Finally the top floor was filled with rows of chests, to store any extra books, enchanted or not, and other assorted materials that might be needed. It was impressive, and Cub happily tugged on his coat as Xisuma took it all in with awe. "Did you do this all by yourself?"

"Actually, Zedaph helped build the bookshelves and hired the librarians!" Cub smiled softly at the memory. It felt like they had built this months ago, but it had barely been a week; a busy, busy week.

"Ah, I haven't visited Zedaph in some time. Maybe I should go check up on him." Xisuma mused. "It will help me unwind a little. Take care of yourself, okay Cub? You deserve it."

"I think you should; it will help you unwind, trust me," Cub chuckled.

"I suppose I will!" Xisuma smiled endearingly at Cub. "Take care, okay Cub? You deserve some rest after today."

"Of course Xisuma; you too." The pair parted ways amicably, Cub waving as Xisuma soared off.

Once Xisuma was out of sight, Cub set off at a swift pace towards the drone camera room. He had some work to do.


	22. British Bakeoff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian gets invited to spend the day with Joe and Cleo. What could go wrong!

Grian's phone buzzed, skittering across the floor. He simply groaned, rolling over and stuffing his face in his pillow. He was in his underwater base at the moment, desperately trying to get some peace and quiet, trying to forget everything he had just seen. Every time he closed his eyes he saw that alien with blood coating its mouth, Doc growling in the cage, Scar crying, Ren crying. It was terrifying watching his friends fight each other unrestrained, something felt so viscerally wrong about it. He wanted to cry just thinking about the way Xisuma snapped at Scar.

What was up with Scar was another pressing concern! Grian had never seen anything like it. It had been quite a while since Grian had truly had access to admin abilities, but he could guarantee that summoning sentient vines from the ground wasn’t one of them. Was the alien giving them powers? Is this part of that Convex thing Scar was part of? Grian didn’t know much about them since the height of their power was last season, but is it possible that they had real magic? How would that even be possible? Grian swallowed his tears, crawling further under the covers. He just wanted to fall asleep, to forget his worries. It was only 10 in the morning, he shouldn’t be as drained as he is.

The phone buzzed again, and this time he reluctantly picked it up. He was sure it would be Xisuma or Ren, and he didn't have the energy to talk to them right now.

**Joe**: Grian, Cleo and I are going to make some bread, and we were curious if you would be interested in joining us.

**Cleo**: yo u wanna make bread?

Grian smiled slightly. Joe must have known how much Grian liked that pie they shared the other day.

**Grian**: sounds fun. where u at?

**Cleo**: juggernaut  
  


It wasn't a very far flight to Cleo's ship, but Grian didn't miss Cub and Xisuma walking through the shopping district. Seeing them forced his mind back to the clearing and the alien, but he shook it off; today, he needed to step away. "Hello?"

Cleo breathlessly bursted through a door to the lower deck, with Joe hot on her tail. Cleo's flower crown sat crooked on her head, and Joe's apron was coated in flour; clearly it was going well. Grian knew these two were chaotic by themselves, but together they were a unique beast that Grian had never had the pleasure (terror?) of seeing before. He had heard the infamous story of their 'Hall of Atonement' for Impulse before the Civil War started, and that told him everything he needed to know. He figured he would get along well with them all things considered, but it seemed like an exclusive club, so he was ecstatic to be invited to make bread with them. "Well? You're late! Come on, we need someone to hold the bowl!"

Grian had never been inside the brig of the ship, but this wasn't what he expected. Even at a quick glance, it was clear the space had been empty until Joe had come over; several furnaces now lined the walls, and wood planks were thrown around as makeshift countertops. Bowls were scattered across every surface, most of which were filled with mysterious, upsettingly viscous substances.

"Alright Grian, hold this bowl while I punch it, okay? Hold on tight." Cleo rubbed her hands together with a malicious grin. Grian held the bowl with a white-knuckled grip, already flinching at the wet glop that coated the sides of the bowl. Cleo punched aggressively, and Grian nearly fell backwards. He adjusted his stance, prepared now as Cleo continued to pummel the bowl.

"I'm not sure we added enough flour," Joe pointed out. Dough had begun flying in every direction, slapping as it hit the floor and walls. It was definitely more of a batter, Grian noted as a bit slapped him in the face.

"Well then add some flour!"

Joe hesitantly approached with the flour bag, but Cleo didn't stop her attack, so Joe shrugged and tossed some flour in. Instantly the flour exploded into the air as Cleo punched it, sending all three of them into coughing fits.

"Bad idea!" Grian cried, sneezing thrice in a row.

"Yeah, that's probably enough." Cleo nodded in approval. The mix was still liquidy, now just covered in flour. "What's next Joe?"

Joe carefully wiped some batter off his glasses and pushed them up, glancing at the recipe book. "It says next we need to let it rise for six hours; we'll know it's ready when it's doubled in size."

"Ughhh, that's so long!" Cleo moaned. "What does waiting even do? Let's just throw it in the furnace already!"

Grian caught the way a smile danced across Joe's lips as he watched Cleo's rambling. "Sure thing. It needs to cook for twenty minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit."

"I don’t know what that is in Celsius, but I et if we double it, it’ll be done twice as fast!" Cleo slopped the batter into a pan and tossed it into a furnace, proudly giving Joe a high five. "Now we wait."

"What are all the other bowls for?" Grian hesitated to ask, worried what the answer might be.

Joe shrugged casually. "We tried making pie, but the filling didn't work out."

"Oh, don't forget the cookies! We forgot to buy eggs so those got abandoned too," Cleo laughed. A quick glance confirmed that they had indeed failed countless projects before Grian was invited, and they all went just as poorly as this one. Grian may have been disorganized, but this was just plain disastrous; he didn't expect anything else from these two honestly.

"So Grian, tell us, what were you up to before we muddled your morning?" Joe asked, carefully sitting in one of the clean spots on the floor.

Grian cautiously sat on the counter, flinching when Cleo plopped down without wiping away any of the flour or dough on her seat. "Uh, nothing I can tell you about really.."

Cleo leaned in with a toothy grin. "Secrets? Is there a romance blooming on the server? Did you find a lover Grian?"

Grian flushed brightly, shoving her away as she cackled. "No! Nothing like that, heavens!"

"Fine, fine, keep your secrets," she laughed. The conversation died off awkwardly, Grian avoiding thinking about Ren again. Cleo checked her phone idly, sitting up when she discovered a missed message. "Oop, Impulse has my shovel. Be right back, play nice boys!"

Joe and Grian shared a glance as Cleo left. "So, have you been feeling any better since our last parley?"

Grian shrugged half-heartedly. "I think I don't wanna talk about it."

Joe just nodded understandingly. "Now how about that base of yours in Hermitville? It seems to be getting quite a bit taller lately."

Grian chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it has. Helps distract me, you know?"

"Sometimes the best distraction is something big and distracting."

Grian looked into Joe's eyes as he stifled a laugh, but there was only sincerity behind those glasses, which only made Grian laugh harder. "I don't know what that's supposed to mean!"

"Is it supposed to mean more than what it said?" Joe asked, genuine confusion now radiating off him as Grian laughed heartily. It only took a second for a warm smile to slide across his lips however, joining Grian with a pleasant giggle. "It's been a while since I've seen you so happy."

Grian sighed, one of those satisfied sighs when your soul feels perfectly light. Joe was right; he hadn't let loose like this in a long time. Ever since Doc had abandoned Ren, Grian had been high-strung, worrying about Ren constantly. Thinking about it brought that weight back to his mind, but baking with Joe and Cleo had been a really nice distraction.

"I'm back! You guys didn't gossip without me, did you?" Cleo burst into the room loudly, twirling a shovel in her hand.

"Never without our resident blatherskite," Joe grinned.

"That's a new one, I like it!" She laughed, hopping up onto the counter again. "So, did you two hear about Iskall and Stress? Supposedly their shared lab was a bit more than they could chew!"

"What? I thought they were having so much fun!" Grian cocked an eyebrow.

"You'd think that, but apparently they had some electrical issues, and Stress accidentally let Iskall's villagers loose while the lights were out. I think they'll get over it though; those two are inseparable!"

"I did see Stress strolling through the shopping district with Iskall's hoodie on the other day; I'd say they're doing just fine," Joe assured with a smile.

"Uh, is our bread done cooking?" Grian asked cautiously, eyeing the furnace. It had barely been ten minutes, but as they all turned to the furnace, they discovered the thing was starting to smoke quite heavily, and a high pitched whistling had started.

"That was not in the recipe," Joe choked out in surprise.

"I've got water!" Cleo exclaimed, hauling the bucket of water in the corner onto the furnace, sending black smoke pouring into the brig. The next few minutes were chaos as the opaque smoke filled the space, the furnace still hissing from being extinguished and the bread (?) still screaming for some reason. Grian fumbled around for a while, trying to call out for Joe or Cleo, but the noise just kept getting louder, the smoke obscuring any and all vision in the brig.

Grian was futilely feeling his way for the exit when a steely grip snagged his wrist and started hauling him away. Once they burst out the door onto the deck of the ship, they all began coughing the foul smoke out and gasping for fresh air. Cleo had grabbed both the boys, and only released her firm grip when Joe whined slightly, trying to pull away. Grian wouldn't admit it later, but that girl had an iron grip, and he had bruises for a week after that.

After taking a minute to catch their breath, the trio started laughing. Smoke was still pouring out the door from below, but they couldn't care. "I don't think I want to eat that bread," Grian wheezed.

"I've never heard bread scream like that!" Joe cried between laughs. He was practically cackling, rolling on the floor. The sight made Grian break out into giggles again; he had never seen Joe so disheveled.

"You two totally messed it up!" Cleo accused with a toothy grin. "You'll owe me next time!" She dove over to Grian, snapping him into a tight headlock and giving him a painful noogie, which Grian protested loudly. "Joe! Help!"

"No!" Joe leapt over, attempting to pry Cleo off him, but to no avail. "She's too powerful! I'm sorry Grian!"

"You're next buster!" She cackled, releasing Grian and switching her hold to Joe.

"Joe! I'm sorry, I have to save myself!" Grian laughed, running to a save distance as Cleo started digging her knuckles into Joe's head.

They wrestled in this manner for some time; it was mostly Cleo against the boys, but Grian found himself pinned down by Joe on sever occasions- he didn’t expect the wiry man to pack such a punch. Grian was too caught up in the childish fun to notice the time, so by the time the sun began to set, the trio was collapsed in exhaustion on the deck again. Grian had ended up with Joe's glasses, Joe had claimed Cleo's flower crown for his own, and Cleo ended up with Joe's apron tied around her like a cape. Not to mention they were all still covered in flour, batter, and ashy smoke, they must have been quite a sight.

"Thanks for letting me hang out you guys. This was great," Grian sighed happily.

Joe hummed in agreement, and Cleo nodded. "I'm glad Joe invited you. You're the perfect size to bench press."

"Thank you?"

Joe heaved a long sigh before sitting up. "Well, I have evening tea with Xisuma in half an hour, so I'd better go take a shower. Let's do this again sometime, hm?"

"Obviously." Cleo offered a thumbs up, and Grian nodded profusely.

"I guess I should probably go too. Can I help clean up your ship before I go?" Grian offered.

Cleo just waved him off. "Nah, I'll clean up tomorrow or something. Thanks for coming along kid!"

"Okay then, thanks for having me! See you around!" Grian waved as he took off back to his base, grin plastered to his face. This was seriously the most fun he'd had in a long time, and he hoped they would really invite him back sometime. As Grian touched down in his base, he was surprised to see Mumbo standing in the center, clearly relieved to see him. That relief quickly dissolved into horror as Mumbo got a good look at Grian.

"I was going to say I missed you, but I don't think I do anymore. What happened to you?" Mumbo scrunched his face in disgust, looking Grian up and down.

All Grian could do was smile. "I helped make bread!"

"Right... Well, go take a shower and put on some fresh clothes, and then we can go have dinner. We should also probably return Joe's glasses while we're out," Mumbo pointed out.

"Oh right," Grian laughed, touching the glasses still perched precariously on his nose. "Fine, fine. Can I have a hug before I go?" Grian spread his arms for a big hug, grinning at the way Mumbo backed away in terror.

"No! Just, go shower already!"


	23. Lazy Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren expresses some pent-up feelings, and we mention hippies for the first time!

Grian woke up with a headache. Things had mellowed in the last week or so since the confrontation in the woods, but Grian could still feel the tension from a mile away, and it was exhausting. Any time Scar was seen around New Hermitville everyone watched him out of the corner of their eyes. He did his best to act normal, but everyone knew something was up, even if they didn't know what. Grian was constantly on alert, watching Scar's every move, keeping an eye on Ren as he attempted to return to normalcy, and waiting for Doc to make a return to society. Scar had assured that now that their secret was an approved operation, the hermits would be seeing more of them around, but Doc still hadn't made an appearance.

There was so much going on in Grian's life right now, he wasn't even sure what his most pressing concern was. Obviously his past was a constant nuisance in his life, reminding him of his inadequacies at the worst moments. This wasn't a new development, but telling Joe and Xisuma about it certainly was, so the memories were fresher than they had been in quite some time. There was also the Doc and Scar mystery, which was becoming less and less a mystery, and more and more a painful secret. The other hermits knew something was up, so it was painfully difficult for Grian to keep his mouth shut, especially to Mumbo. Thankfully Ren was feeling better since his attack, so they'd been spending time together, but nothing had changed between him and Doc; if anything, their relationship was even more strained after that encounter.

That was a whole week ago now, good heavens. It sounded like a long time, but it felt like it was only an hour ago Grian was staring down the maw of a deadly, bloodstained monster, watching Xisuma fight a caged Doc, watching Scar perform magic not even an admin could conjure up with commands. How was he supposed to go back to regular life, pretending he hadn't just witnessed everything he just had? He needed answers, he needed to talk to Scar again, he needed to do _something_. Everything was falling apart because of him, Xisuma didn't deserve to deal with this, Ren was in so much pain, and he couldn't forget that Cub was just as much wrapped up in this too. He had to help his friends, he couldn't sit by, not again.

"Earth to Grian!" Ren waved a hand in front of Grian's nose, startling him. "Get out of those thoughts of yours, I know that expression," Ren teased, but it was clear that he was concerned. They were walking along the outskirts of New Hermitville, quietly basking in the sounds of nature; they had taken to doing that lately.

"Sorry, this forest just gets me thinking, yknow?"

Ren nodded, and Grian knew he understood the feeling all too well. Ren pulled a mixed expression, clearly debating something, but eventually decided to speak his mind. "Can we have a jam sesh real quick?"

Grian wasn't expecting him to say that, but agreed, so they slipped into the cover of the trees. They only walked for a minute before breaking into a small, manmade clearing, just large enough for two people with a fire pit in the center. They had chopped down the trees here a couple months ago, creating a secret meeting place for them. At the time it was fun, creating a hideout that only they knew about, but thanks to recent events it became the only place they could discuss delicate topics without the threat of prying eyes and prying ears.

Once properly settled around the empty fire pit, Grian locked eyes with Ren. Instead of the piercing shade of blue in his eyes that Grian had become accustomed to, they swirled with a moody grey, clearly deep in thought. "G, it's okay that I'm still upset, right? Like, I feel better knowing where he is, and that he's safe with Scar, but I still wish we could hang out, ya feel?"

"You have every right to be mad at him! He didn't say a word when we saw him, I can't bel-"

"No, not mad. Sad." Ren stared deep into Grian's eyes, and Grian was pierced by the profound sadness in his gaze. It was a prolonged hurt, one that fades because it's around for so long, but when you pay attention to it again, the sadness has turned into depression. "Can I just talk without you interrupting?"

Grian nodded silently, and Ren let out a shaky sigh. "I know all the hermits are friends, and this is a weird situation for everyone, but I think I'm dealing with double what everyone else is. I just- I don't know what I saw in their clearing. I don't know what it- I don't know what it means. Why is this happening? Why me? I didn't ask for my best friend- for my friend to just- and I'm so tired, Grian. I'm so, so tired, of all of this. I want a break. I want to- to run- to disappear into the woods and never- and leave society. People are too hard-" Ren whimpered, shaking as he dug his fingernails into his arms.

Grian crossed over to him slowly, sitting next to him on the log. Ren's fingernails were close to drawing blood where they pressed into his skin, so Grian carefully pried his hands away, massaging them to keep him distracted. He waited patiently for Ren to get his bearings back; as bad as Grian was at dealing with his own anxiety, he knew how to help others fairly well.

After a few minutes in silence, Ren pulled his hands away, and quickly signed _I'm sorry_. Grian wasn't proficient in sign language, but knew enough to recognize the common phrase.

"No need to apologize. Are you okay with me talking, or would you rather I write?" Grian murmured. Ren shrugged, but gestured vaguely to him, so Grian took it that he was fine to speak. "I'm going to go get some water for you, and I'll be back in just a minute."

Grian hurried to town, remembering that he had a bottle of water somewhere in his house. The place was in a bit of disarray at the moment, but surely it couldn't be too deep in his chest monster. As he dug through shulker box after shulker box, Grian replayed Ren's concerns in his head. He was definitely upset still, which, while it was terrible that his friend wasn't feeling well, he felt vindicated in his defense over the last weeks. Mumbo's reactions had worried Grian that he was taking things too far, but Ren was still heartbroken, so Grian would keep protecting him.

Ren had also mentioned he wished it would all just stop. Grian couldn't fix that as much as he wished he could, but an idea was tickling at the back of his mind that he would need to ask Ren about if he was feeling more grounded when he got back. Luckily, as Grian's fingers brushed the bottom of the chest he was digging through, he caught on the lip of a glass bottle, and fished out his prize; a glass of cool water from the stream in the forest.

Bottle in hand, Grian made his way back to their hideout quickly. Thankfully, Ren seemed to be feeling better now than when he had left, and greeted him with a small smile as he arrived. Ren downed the contents gratefully, sighing contentedly when the bottle was empty. He signed a swift thank you as he replaced the cork and returned the bottle to Grian.

After a brief lull, Grian spoke up again. "You said you'd like to take a break, right? How would you like to expand our little meeting spot? We could make our own hippie camp or something, and escape for a while; does that sound nice to you?" Grian offered.

Ren sat quietly for a few minutes, fiddling with his fingers while he processed Grian's suggestion. After a moment, he raised a hand and offered a small _yes_, a smile poking at the corner of his mouth. Grian beamed; this was going to be a great project and distraction, for both of them. He could hardly wait to pull out his blueprint paper and start sketching. But, for now, they sat, Ren's head in Grian's lap as lazy clouds drifted over head, wasting away the rest of the afternoon.


	24. Getting a Pet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren and Grian start their hippie commune and get a pet!

Ren raked his hoe through the dirt, forming tidy rows in his soon-to-be garden. Streams trickled through the area, watering the loose topsoil and making the air smell like fresh earth. His satchel of seeds hung from his belt, filled by Grian a few days ago for him. This was the most relaxed Ren had been in a long time.

"Hey Renny, how's the garden coming along?" Grian chirped as he skipped over to him. He had been making lunch nearby, and evidently it was finished.

"Goin' well! Hopefully we'll have stuff growing by the end of the day." Ren stood, brushing off the mud caked onto the front of his shins. He followed Grian back over to the fire pit, and the smell of a savory stew washed over him, reminding him how hungry he was. Grian had bought the vegetables from Hermitville, but the plan was to be completely self-sufficient once the garden started growing.

Grian poured them each a bowl of stew and they fell silent, eating happily. This was exactly what Ren needed; the sounds of birds twittering, the rustling of the leaves above them, the joy of a stray rabbit hopping into the clearing. It was perfectly serene, and Ren could finally relax. Grian finished his bowl first, pouring himself a second serving before catching Ren's eye with a sly grin. "What's up G?"

"Oh, not much. Just thinking about how funny it would be if we dug a tunnel under Area 77," Grian revealed with a smirk.

"Wait, really? We could do that?"

"Why not! They won't even notice, and we get to see the stuff they're working on! Win-win if you ask me." Both bowls of stew were quickly forgotten as Grian grinned wildly at Ren's reaction. He had to admit, his first instinct was that this was a terrible idea, but the more he considered it, the more he liked it. It gave them something to do during the day, and it meant he could get closer to Doc, even if they had to keep it secret.

"So when do we start?"

"I'm already on it."

Turned out Grian had already started the entrance to the tunnel under his van, but it was rough and narrow, so the pair began widening it side by side. They spent a few hours laboring away, but this kind of dedication to a project was more Grian's speed, so Ren left him to keep working on the garden.

They fell into a certain rhythm in the following weeks; Ren tending to the garden and making the meals, with Grian digging most of the day, only reappearing for a few minutes to slam down a bowl of stew. Sometimes Ren would insist on taking a shift, letting Grian take a much-needed nap. The tunnel was always being worked on in one way or another, and progress was flying.

One thing Ren had noticed over the weeks, however, was strange. He was a real klutz. It wasn't exactly odd on it's own, but Ren genuinely couldn't stop tripping over his own feet like an idiot, and from the looks of it neither could Grian. In the garden, behind the vans, in the tunnel especially, Ren stumbled and tripped everywhere. He wondered if it was the new hippie sandals he had made for himself, but going barefoot almost made it worse. It was the oddest thing.

Until they found the explanation. "Uhhh, hey Ren? I've got something you'll really need to see!" Grian called from the entrance of the tunnel, pulling Ren away from the growing fire.

"Did we make it? Or is th- what?" Ren froze a few steps into the tunnel, heart leaping out of his throat. A plant filled the hall; not a regular plant, not a vegetable from the garden, but a very large, very alive plant monster. It was reminiscent of a Venus fly trap, except with teeth and seeming sentience. "Hello?"

It seemed to react to his voice, leaning closer to him. Ren just stood, mouth dry. "How- what- how is-"

"I don't know!" Grian squeaked. "I just tripped over one of its vines and suddenly this- it- it was here!"

"Does it speak English? Hello plant? What are you doing here?" It reacted to Ren's voice again, leaning closer, but Ren stood a terrified step away. Was it an alien? Did it escape from Area 77? Maybe this was a sign they were under their campsite. Was it dangerous? What if Doc sent it to kill them?

Grian blinked out of his trance, looking between Ren and the creature. “Why does it like you so much? It didn’t look at me like that, see? Here planty!" The thing tilted slightly, almost like a confused puppy, but refused to turn its eyeless gaze away from Ren. He couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad sign.

It took a while to get comfortable with the creature, but eventually they formed some sort of bond. Ren warmed up to it first, coming up with the name 'Scara'. He forgot how he came up with it, but it stuck, and creature seemed to like it, so Scara it was. She seemed to enjoy eating meat when Ren offered it to her (which was disconcerting), but she didn’t really need it to live. Her understanding of English was minimal, but Ren managed to teach her some basic phrases, so she stayed out of their way when they were working. She spent a lot of her days hanging out around Ren's van, and seemed to be able to 'hibernate' into regular plant mode when not hanging out with them. And, despite not needing to eat, she still enjoyed hovering around them when they ate dinner together.

"Do you think she was part of an Area 77 experiment? I've never seen a plant like her," Grian mumbled around a mouthful of potato.

"Yeah, probably. Right Scara? I just wanna per you like a puppy sometimes!" Ren crooned, the voice making Scara sway happily.

"You should try!" Grian encouraged.

"Really? But what if she bites me!"

"You two are best friends now, right? Just pet her on the head, maybe she'll like it!"

Ren couldn't pretend he hadn't thought about touching the plant creature, but anytime he got close, he got nervous. He hesitantly reached a hand out, and Scara leaned closer curiously. He had gotten this close when feeding her, but he was still worried she might bite his hand off. He moved closer slowly, hand open, and Scara just continued watching curiously. Ren hovered just above her head, glancing at Grian for support, who gave double thumbs up and a wide smile. Finally, slowly, Ren closed the gap, resting his hand on Scara's head. For a moment, both of them were still, but Scara leaned into the touch, so Ren began petting. A giggle slipped past his lips. She was velvety to the touch, and leaned into his hand like a cat. Ren didn't consider himself much of an animal person compared to others, but he certainly had a way with plants.


	25. Intruders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grian’s words of affirmation don’t seem to do much.

A muffled knocking was the first thing Grian remembered as he woke up from his nap, groaning as the abrasive knocking grew louder. He was tempted to roll over and fall back asleep, but the banging only grew louder, forcing him to stay conscious. As he stretched, he pondered who was at the door, since it couldn't be Ren. Ren was usually very courteous; surely he knew Grian hadn't gotten much sleep lately? He was the one who suggested Grian take a nap, so he must have had a good reason to be banging like this. What kind of emergency would warrant Grian's help? Was Scara not feeling well? Grian rolled to his feet with a groan and threw the door open, but it took him a moment to process that it wasn't Ren at the door. He sagged in relief knowing Ren wasn't in trouble, but the relief didn't last long as he realized it was instead Scar at his door. If Ren was digging in their secret tunnel right now, Scar might be able to hear him. Is this why Scar was here in the first place, because he knew about the tunnel? Grian took a breath, attempting to tame his pounding heart. Best to play it cool. "Oh! Hi Scar!"

Scar smiled on instinct, but quickly frowned again. "Hello Grian. What do you think you're doing?"

"Hmm..." Grian pretended to ponder. "I think I was taking a nap in my van until you woke me up. Can I help you, or did you just want to bother me?"

"Wh- Well I-" Scar fumbled. "No! What are you doing out here!"

"Well, me and Ren decided to embrace nature and live off the land! Does that bother you?"

"Well, no- why did you do it right next to us?" Scar sighed exasperatedly, and Grian grinned.

"Whaat? Right next to your secret project? What a coincidence!"

Scar growled. "I knew it. This is our forest, why can't you just hang out somewhere else and leave us alone?"

"The forest belongs to itself! You don't get to decide what we do in the forest!" Grian raised his voice, hoping to scare Scar off. The longer he stayed here, the greater the chance he discovered the secret tunnel or Scara.

"We claimed our corner of the area, and you picked the one spot in the entire forest that's right next to us! Go somewhere else!" Scar waved his hands exasperatedly.

"Well if you stay over there, and we stay over here, then there's no problem! Get off my lawn!" Grian waved his arms bigger than Scar, successfully shooing him a couple steps away.

"Fine, but leave us alone you.. you hippies!" Scar threatened weakly before retreating, flying in the direction of Hermitville. Grian hadn't visited civilization since they had started this camp; hopefully Xisuma wasn't worrying about them, but grian assumed X probably knew what was happening out here. Letting out a yawn, Grian shuffled down to the tunnel to tell Ren about what happened.

Grian found Ren standing awkwardly in the middle of the tunnel, shovel in hand and Scara hovering over his shoulder. When he spotted Grian coming he startled slightly, but his expression quickly morphed into joy when he realized it was just Grian. "Oh G, I was freakin out! What happened?"

Grian yawned again with a giggle. "Can we talk over dinner? I just woke up and I'm starving!" It only took a couple minutes for Ren to whip up a swift meal, desperate to hear what happened. Once sat on their logs around the campfire, Ren looked at Grian expectantly. “I could hear talking, and it sounded like Scar! That was Scar, right? Did he hear me digging? I tried to stop when I heard the talking, but maybe he still heard me," Ren fretted, pushing the food around his plate.

"Don't worry, he didn't know about the tunnel," Grian assured around a mouthful of food. "I think he just barely realized we were even here, cause he just yelled at me to get out of the woods."

"Really? If you're sure.." Ren played with his food aggressively, clearly thinking deeply about the whole situation. Grian settled on not responding, eating the rest of his dinner as quickly as he could. He was feeling much better after his afternoon nap, and was ready to get back to work mining.

"Grian!" Ren cried, catching Grian's attention. "Look!"

Grian followed Ren's shaking finger into the sky above their heads, spotting a small drone hovering there. For a moment, the pair stared at the strange device, but it seemed to notice their staring, and darted off toward Hermitville. Grian watched it as far as he could see it, and when he looked back down, Ren locked eyes with him in terror. "Do you think Scar and Doc are spying on us now?"

"I dunno... Scar definitely couldn't make something like that, but Doc probably could. Better safe than sorry, hm? We probably shouldn't talk in the open like this anymore." Grian mused.

"Good idea," Ren sighed. His shoulder's sagged as he dragged his hand through his unwashed hair. He seemed paler than usual, and high strung. The dirt under his nails revealed the heavy labor he had been working on, and his clothes were covered in the same grit. The typical shine in his bright blue eyes was missing, which made Grian upset. Where was he supposed to find his daily boost of joy, when Ren was right out of it? That glow that Ren always seemed to have was gone, and it was all Doc's fault.

"Hey Ren, how are you feeling today?"

Ren tensed up slightly. "I'm fine, why?"

Grian shrugged. "Dunno, you just seemed tired. Do you just wanna hang out right now?"

"I- I guess." The pair tidied up their dinner, then slipped out of their clearing. They had discovered a small grassy hill nearby with a great view of the sky, so they enjoyed stargazing every so often. Once settled lying side by side, Grian finally spoke up again. "What's bothering you buddy?"

Ren let out a soft sigh. "I don't know any more. I still miss Doc, but- but this has been going on for like, months now. I'm ge- I'm getting tired of it. I just don't care anymore- is that bad?"

Ren glanced over, and Grian's heart shattered. The dark circles under Ren's eyes screamed exhaustion, and it hurt that Grian knew exactly how he was feeling. It took a long time for that numbness to go away.

"Ren, I promise I'll help you get through this, alright? I know what to do to make you feel better." Grian offered Ren a comforting smile, but Ren didn't return it, simply turning back to the sky in silence.

They didn't talk the rest of the night.


End file.
